Altering Crossfire
by Mysterous951
Summary: What could happen if an inaccurate occurrence advance to an unlucky mishap amidst two teens who are complete opposites? One being seen as an egotistically spoiled brat while the other being seen as a timidly reserved bairn abruptly swapping bodies by an error in a scientific experiment gone wrong. How long will they be able to grasp the situation before 1 of them causes a downfall?
1. Assigned Partners

It was the first day of the first semester of Senior Year. Warren was all giddy by given the opportunity to discover more and devote extra time with Max again. His high school years coming close to an end. This years studies were going to be a challenge this year, he knew, but there also came the thought of dances, parties, and fun. Plus, he was thrilled to what his studies were going to be like this year since he was given Biochemistry, Calculus, Economic Globalization, 3-D Design, English Literature, and Spanish.

Warren was pumped to inaugurate his first day back to school. He hopped out of bed, grabbed his shower supplies to clean himself up before heading to school. He walked out of his room with a happy-go-lucky mood. He disregarded the entirety of the population all around him, to the point of where he thoroughly forgot about the people, well, more like person, who happens to be his worst nightmare.

Nathan Prescott- the spoiled inadequate prosperous son who always acts superior towards others. Continuously assuming he has the upper hand, has his own conduct, and dominates this school just because his kin happens to own most to almost all of Arcadia Bay. The kid who has acrimony issues and has the characteristics of who would automatically snap if glancing in his direction in a form he would detect as offensive. He wasn't so much of an immoral individual back in the freshman and sophomore year, but something occurred to where he just ended up lacking all empathy towards others and just loses his mentality fairly quickly.

Warren was perpetually terrified when he noticed the presence of Nathan appear before him, to where he just prayed he was invisible each time Nathan was near. Warren tried to not get in eye contact with Nathan at all costs and remained as silent as he could. He held his breath as he slowly maneuvered his way passed Nathan. Today was his lucky day. It appeared as though Nathan didn't have the urge to pummel Warren, let alone give him the time of day to look at him.

Warren sighed with relief, relaxing his tensed up muscles as he entered the Men's Restroom, heading to the nearest shower stall and began to take a shower. Several minutes passed. Warren turned off the shower, got dressed in the stall, and walked out, feeling refreshed and ecstatic to soon head straight to school. He set his supplies back in his dorm room and then rushed out of his room with a big grin on his face, but once he did, he bumped into none other than...

"Well, well, well, isn't somebody in a good mood today?" A light chuckle escaped the persons lips.

"Prescott..." Warren gasped as he felt a cold sweat go down his back by the sudden encounter.

"Prepare yourself for this year, Gayram." He folded his arms as he gave Warren a deviant grin, leaning in with a chortle.

Warren nodded his head furiously as he closed his eyes, putting all his effort into not looking into the devils eyes. He heard another chuckle go straight through his ears, leading him to have shivers go up his spine. Nathan pushed him against the wall with force, practically slamming Warren against the barricade.

"See ya later, Gayram." Nathan walked off, heading in the same direction Warren was going to head to, fading away into the distance.

Warren stood there for several minutes until Nathan was out of sight. He sighed deeply, releasing the tension he kept inside. Warren rubbed the back of his neck while heading towards the door to get to school. He tried to continue keeping his distance away from Nathan and luckily succeeded at that.

He reached school grounds and spotted Max seconds after. His face lit up, rushing in her direction, "Mad Max!" He shouted, waving his hand while he ran towards her. While he did, he happened to trip, face planting on the ground.

"Watch where you're going you fucking idiot." Nathan smirked with amusement, turning back towards Victoria, "Try not being so clumsy next time you klutz." Nathan and Victoria walked off with a chuckle.

"Son of a..." Warren glared in their direction, trying to keep his cool.

"Are you okay?" Max knelt down to assist Warren, "That damn bastard already starting pitiful shit like that. He's gonna get his karma soon. Hopefully..." She mimicked Warrens expression, helping him up.

"He will in time... he will in time..." Warren said, his expression not changing as he stood up, brushing off the dust.

"Yeah, I sure hope so." Max smiled faintly towards Warren, "Anyway, how ya been holding up? Besides that whole moment with the devil himself?" She laughed under her breath.

"Better days, but I'm glad to see you." He smiled, trying to stay placid, "How 'bout yourself, Super Max?"

"Better days, my friend. Better days." She giggled.

Warren and Max talked for a bit until the bell rung, signalling them to head to their class. Warren was bummed, but he tried to remain positive. After all, his first period was Biochemistry- one of his favorite subjects of all time. He reached his classroom and smiled happily towards Ms. Grant- one of his favored teachers, once he entered the classroom. Warren greeted her, having small talk before heading to a nearby table, adjacent to the front. He prepared himself for class, awaiting for it to begin. As he waited patiently, he shuddered once his eyes landed on the person he never wanted to see the rest of the day suddenly enter the classroom.

Nathan. Fucking. Prescott. Walking inside the classroom with the look of displeasure. Warren froze by Nathan's arrival. Nathan noticed Warren, leading Warren to look straight down. Nathan chuckled with amusement again, wanting to mess with him once more, but he headed towards the back. While he did, he nudged Warren's side, roughly and he responded with an 'oof!' Nathan sat in the back, isolating himself from the other students that walked in after him.

Class began once the final bell rung. Ms. Grant took attendance and walked behind her desk, going through papers before beginning to speak, "Good morning class." She smiled, giving a warm welcome to her new set of students, "I hope you all had a good summer."

All the students nodded, giggled, and smiled to her sentence.

"Well, for starters of the first semester, I'd like to assign you all your partner for this years subject." She clasped her hands with a smile, looking at all the students.

They all whispered, pondering and hoping they would be assigned with a friend. Ms. Grant went over the list and appointed the whole quantity of the students in her class this years lab partner, leaving Warren and Nathan the last two students. Warren breathed heavily with anticipation, praying he could work alone. Nathan clenched his hands, looking irritated. They pleaded in their heads that they wouldn't be assigned as partners, but seconds later, their luck soon ran out.

They both tried to grasp for an explanation, but couldn't process the whole assigned partnership. They sat in silence, not looking at each other to the point of where first period ended in a flash. Warren Graham and Nathan Prescott felt like they were condemned to hell once they realized they were assigned as lab partners. They felt like Satan himself was placing a curse on them. Well, felt more like Ms. Grant was Satan in disguise. Or more like she's just become a mad scientist for putting the complete opposites as associates for this years projects.

Warren rushed up to the front with slight stutter, not holding back his cursing, "W-Wait... wait, wait, wait... Y-You're shitting me, right, Ms. Grant?" Warren shivered by a combination of disturbance and fear once hearing those words leave her lips.

"I don't tolerate the curse word, but no, Warren." She began, "I'm not, quote unquote shitting you." She glimpsed over at him with no humorous expression as she responded.

Warren felt he was about to collapse by annihilation after picking up those words, that it punctured him hard in the chest, pierced his eardrums, and hammered a nail in his head. It was damaging him harder than the usual beat downs he gets on a common basis by the bullies at this academy. Especially by the one who now happens to be his lab partner. He tumbled backwards against the closest lab desk, gripping his chest with one hand while the other grasped upon the table. Warren felt he was about to have a panic attack just by that statement.

"For crying out loud, Warren, this will go by fast." Ms. Grant looked over at him, "And my deep apologies for assigning you with someone who doesn't seem to find much fond in this arranged partnership just like you in turn, but Principal Wells requested I place him in your care because of his lack in studies." She whispered, not wanting Nathan to hear her allegation.

Nathan was confounded in his own little world, being pissy as all hell for having to team up with Warren. Nathan shoved all of his utensils in his backpack, grabbed his camera, and glared over at Ms. Grant and Warren before storming towards them, filling the classroom with darkness as his anger began to stir slowly, preparing for eruption.

"This is complete bullshit! Why the hell am I having to team up with this pansy?!" He scowled at Warren as he asked.

"I'd appreciate it if you could refrain yourself from curse words and name calling, Mr. Prescott." Ms. Grant sat up straight, hindering the negative atmosphere Nathan was forming around them, "I know you two do not see eye to eye, but if you work together on this in a calmly manner, it will fly by in a blink of an eye."

Warren and Nathan both frowned at the response with a growl towards one another. Nathan giving the look of murder in mind while Warren gave the look of misery in his. Once there was no success on a request for new lab partners, they both resigned with a groan of agony as they left the classroom. Warren didn't want to raise the quantity of anger they had against this ungrateful event, but he did want to get this over with. He caught up with Nathan who was storming off into the crowd and bravely enough, grabbed hold of his shoulder.

"Prescott." He huffed out, "I know you don't like this, because hell, I don't find much fond in this either, but to make this easier between us, just..." He paused, debating on finishing that sentence or not as he tensed up after realizing whose shoulder it was he set his hand on.

"Just leave it all up to you?" Nathan ended up completing the sentence for him, glaring, "I'd like to if I could Gayram, but if I do, I'd wind up getting into a never ending fight with my goddamn parents." He grunted.

Warren stood there in silence, removing his hand quickly after realizing he was practically in contact with his predator. He covered his eyes with the mood of annoyance and grievance brewing inside of him before building his courage back up to speak to Lucifer himself. Warren didn't know how to respond, let alone how to start his next sentence. The silence between them continued to grow as their tension suddenly began to build. Warren looked back up and it appeared that Nathan's irritation was accelerating quickly which feared Warren, leading him to spit out the first thing his mind foolishly advised him to say.

"Well, least now that shows there are people higher up than you, Prescock." Warren spat it out with a chuckle, then instantly clamped his mouth with his hands, his eyes widening by shock.

"Excuse me, Gayram?! What the fuck did you just say to me?!" Nathan slammed Warren against the lockers without a second thought, "You wanna run that by me again, dickwad?" A commotion grew once a loud noise from the impact echoed through the halls.

"Chill out, dude! I-I d-didn't mean to say that, alright?!" Warren replied with a panic.

"Best not have!" Nathan spoke in a sharp tone against Warren, giving him the death stare, "Best keep your head down next time if you know what's good for you!" He growled.

Warren shoved him away without thinking twice, not even keeping in mind the possible consequences he could receive from this domineering person. Before Warren could even retreat from a possible fight, he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt. Stood before him was an outraged Nathan. The one that appeared to be more intense than usual. The one that appeared to be more aggressive than normal. And the one that appeared to be more pissed than ever.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Warren shut his eyes tightly after realizing the position he led himself into. Jitters slithered its way up to him as he held in his breath by the root of intense fear, preparing himself for a full time blow to the face, one he sensed it was going to be worse than the latest one.

"You sustain on speaking and/or doing shit like this again, you'll eventually loom in the hospital next time." Nathan growled, his mouth up to Warren's ear just to build up the discouragement Warren already obviously had, "I fucking swear to you on that, Gayram!" He was going to finish it off with his customary head-butts, but he was drawn back by none other than...

"Hey, leave him alone, Prescott!" The famous Maxine Caulfield, also known as Super Max-one of her several nicknames. The only girl who had the guts to stand up to the king and devil of Blackwell Academy. Also, the only girl who had the courage to step forward for a friend, even if there were likelihood of various consequences coming her way.

"Typical. The reticent Caulfield stepping out of the shadows to save her boyfriend." Nathan glanced over his shoulder, his eyes following the voice of Max as she pushed her way through the crowd, "Shows how much of a pussy you really are, Science Nerd." He scoffed as he released Warren, practically slamming him against the lockers once more before walking away.

"Are you-" Max got elbowed in the side while she walked towards Warren.

"Better think twice before speaking next time, Caulfield." Nathan expressed roughly, "Or else you'll be joining your boyfriend." He buried his hands in his jean pockets, fiddling with the fabric as he strolled off with a simmering attitude.

Max grumbled with annoyance, trying to stay calm when she was heading towards Warren, "Are you okay, Warren?" She leaned to his level, meeting him face to face since he slouched against the lockers, catching his breath.

"Yeah... I'm-I'm fine..." Warren shook his head to clear his mind, "Thanks again, Max. Always saving my ass from that ass." He threw out his hand, flipping the bird in Nathans direction with discontent, hoping he didn't notice.

"No problem. And I do agree." She chuckled under her breath, "He sure is an ass, even moreso than just that." Max glanced in the same direction.

They both laughed in unison. The commotion that was surrounding the scene drifted off with the sound of disappointment. Relief and relaxation soon surrounded Max and Warren as they were standing beside each other in reticence. Warren sighed deeply, groaning with gloom. Max looked over towards him, exposing worrisome.

"Why so glum? That bastard is no longer in your hair." She awkwardly giggled, trying to lessen the tension that was building up inside of Warren.

"Pfft, I wish! Yet that damn bastard is going to be in my hair again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that until..." He dropped his head in shame, "The last day of Senior Year..."

"What are you talking about?" Max leaned down, concerned with the sound of shock.

"We were assigned as lab partners... meaning we're going to be associates for this final year in this Academy..." He sighed deeply, frustrated.

Max's jaw dropped by that response, "You're fucking kidding me, right?!" She cocked her head with the look of shock.

"I wish I was... I wish I was..." Warren hid the look of depression he had on his face with his hands, "Anyways, we better head to our next class."

Even though, honestly, I wish I didn't have to part from Max at a time like this... He thought to himself, his depression increasing.

"Yeah..." Max sounded despondent as she responded, "See ya at lunch?" She tried to find a way to lift his spirits a bit, even if it was only a little.

Though to him it was a dream come true to spend more time with the person he's obsessed with, "Definitely." He exposed a faint smile, trying to disguise his look of excitement, "And thanks again for... you know... being all heroic like usual. Saving my ass like always." He chuckled lightly.

"No worries." She giggled, patting his shoulder before walking off, "See ya later." Max waved as she headed to her next period.

"Yeah... see ya later." Warren was completely dejected by the whole scene that just happened. He dragged his feet to his next period, feeling as awful as ever, "Lets hope this day has its high notes soon..." He rubbed the back of his neck, sighing deeply one last time before entering his next class.


	2. Doors to Hell

Chapter Text

The whole day has slipped through his fingers as if losing all hope to his school year. Ever since first periods nightmare occurred, he just couldn't think straight the rest of the day. Warren tried and tried to focus on the subjects in his classes, but the scene kept replaying round and round in his head. It felt like an endless nightmare for him. He was both scared and irritated how his first day of school became a horrible dream. Fear kept crawling up him and horrified him half to death, while irritation slithered to the core. He didn't know how to take it anymore, but with no other solution, he surrendered and put as much of himself as he could inside the will to survive this years hell.

"Jesus... why did the year have to start off with this kind of shit...?" He sighed deeply, feeling sorry for himself.

"Still feeling down I take it?" Max appeared beside him, scaring the crap out of him by surprise.

"Geez... when did you get here?" He jolted, "Freaking adding more tension... well, I'm glad you're here." He wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I can't believe you were left with that asshole..." Max whispered with annoyance.

"I can't either." He sighed, "What the hell did I ever do to end up having him as a lab partner? How the hell did he even end up in my classroom?"

"I don't really understand that myself, but hey, it'll just be a year." She lifted his head, trying to give him courage, "I know you can make it through this helluva battle. Show no weakness to that damn asshole and I know you'll make it through the end of the year."

"Heh... easy for you to say." A chuckle escaped, "You have more courage than I do and here I am, having a girl defend me each time I'm about to get my ass kicked by that asshole."

"I just help whenever I'm near." She chuckled lightly, "After all, I am Super Max!" She tried to sound funny, but it appeared she failed.

"Heh... yeah... thanks..." Warren sounded so dejected by the sudden statement which made him feel even more pathetic, "Anyways, where do you feel like- shit!" He tensed up after realizing the infamous Nathan Prescott was approaching him with a look of anger.

"Gayram!" He spat out.

"What do you want now?" Warren didn't care of how he spoke to the high class Prescott, he just wanted this to end soon.

"Make a schedule of what to work on and when to work on it. I want to see you little to none this year, got it?" Nathan spoke with irritation.

"You and me both." Warren mumbled with a light chuckle as he shook his head.

"_Got it_?!" His voice rose with a sound of animosity surfacing over him.

"Yeah, I got it." Warren responded clearly just to get the arrogant Nathan off his back, "I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"Make it simple and make it quick." He glared.

"I will, now can you excuse Max and I?" Warren tried to build up his courage as much as he could to look straight into his predators eyes.

"Heh... fucking pansy. See ya tomorrow." Nathan turned his heels after glaring deathly at Warren then Max.

"Jesus... why is he such a fucking dick...?" Max mumbled so only Warren could hear.

"I just don't know... all I know is he's just getting on my last nerve." He mumbled back, "Demanding. Abusive. Control freak. God, why did this have to fucking happen to me?"

"Well, it's not the end of the world, yet." Max tried to joke, "The end of the world happens on the next Vortex Party." She pointed at a flyer.

"Oh yeah... The Vortex Party. Another thing Prescock seems to lead." Warren sighed, "Sometimes I just wish I could go to one of them and crash it." He smirked.

"Want to?" Max chuckled, "I'm game if you are." She gave a deviant grin.

"I knew you were the devilish type." He laughed with amusement, "Hell ya, I'm _definitely_ game."

Warren and Max laughed with enthusiasm, awaiting the day for the party to arrive. One thing that lifted Warren's spirits up high. Well, besides Max's presence. After a good chuckle, they decided to head to Two Whales to have something sweet. When they arrived, they saw a troubled Chloe, fiddling with her key chain, soon pulling out her phone. They were wary about heading over to an angered Chloe, but as concerning and courageous Max was, she walked there as if it were a walk in the park.

"Chloe, what's up?" Max walked up, "What set you off this time?"

"What set me off...? What set me off was that fucking Prescock!" Chloe responded furiously, "That fucking Sean Prescott!"

"Sean Prescott? Are you talking about Nathan's dad? What about him?" Max questioned.

"He got my mom fired! He's put my family in debt! And now is making my mom work for him!" Chloe shouted, "Leaving me to work in this... in this fucking diner."

"What?!" Max and Warren shouted in unison.

"You're shitting me, right?!" Max shouted with rage, "He can't fucking do that!"

"I thought that, too, but it appears my family can't do jack shit about it!" Chloe responded, "And it seems I can't do jack shit about me having to work here."

"So, it appears the Prescott's are giving us hell this year, huh?" Warren spoke with the tone of disbelief, "Well, we can't let them have all the fun of torment, now can we?" A chuckle escaped his lips.

"Max... what the hell's up with your boy here...?" Chloe whispered, "Something happen with this nerd?"

"We've had quite the day..." Max sighed deeply, "Long story short, Warren's having to spend this year with the infamous Nathan Prescott as a lab partner..."

"You're shitting me, right?" Chloe scoffed, "Damn and I thought I was the only one suffering this year."

"Yeah, you're having to work in this diner, while I'm having to work beside that damn bastard heir." Warren was ticked to the point of where he was about to snap, "It's only been a day and I already want to do something to get back, but..."

"But you don't know how?" Chloe questioned with a smirk, "I have a few things up my sleeves that just might help."

"Oh?" The two said in unison, "Do tell."

"Well, if we plan on breaking some rules and finding ways to surpass the Prescott name, we may just be able to lead them to their downfall." Chloe chuckled an evil laugh, "BUT I would need your help, nerd."

"Leave it to me." Warren laughed with a smirk as if his confidence suddenly boosted.

Warren and Chloe laughed as if they were evil villains or heroes, while leaving Max in the dark. Max was as clueless as ever, but as always, she sided with her two best friends. The three left the diner to talk more about it privately, as their day was actually ending with a high note.


	3. Gate's to the Lion's Den

Chapter Text

The three adolescents headed to Chloe's house, already suggesting where to start and what their goal should be. They kept it on the down-low by just making brief ideas before arriving at the house which they now call their secret base to sort out their plans. Warren and Chloe kept passing ideas back and forth as if playing ping-pong, while Max just went along with everything they were both saying. Max tended to be the clueless type, noticing everything a little late, but it didn't bother her. All she did was follow most times when it came to helping out friends.

"Okay, so how much do you know about the Prescott's, Nerd?" Chloe asked with curiosity, awaiting for beans to be spilled.

"Can you not call me _nerd_, please? I get enough of that almost everyday..." Warren sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, sorry, I don't know what you go by that much." Chloe sighed, sounding annoyed.

"_Warren_ is just fine, thanks..." He sounded just as annoyed.

"Fine... _Warren_, how much do you know about the Prescott family?" She asked again.

"Well, I bet you already know they have quite the fortune and practically own almost all of Arcadia Bay, right?" He first asked, seeing nodding heads with the look of obviously, "Did you know they have old, abandoned farms around here, owns Blackwell and have hidden agenda's which is their main reason why they bought the police force here?"

"I had a feeling something was off with the police force whenever it came to Nathan. I only see him get a fucking slap on the wrist then set free whenever it comes to things most would find illegal." Chloe crossed her arms, irritated, "As for the abandoned farms, it would be obvious seeing as to how they're the oldest and influential family here. And for Blackwell... well, I had a hunch since he never got in trouble for barely attending school and having his grades raised by hush money after he hit junior year and started isolating himself from practically everyone, but Chase. Anything else?" Chloe groaned out of annoyance.

"Yeah, things tend to spread like wildfire when it comes to the Prescott family, but there are facts that are true about them and other facts that are a complete lie to keep others away from them or fear them." Warren added.

"What are you getting at here?" Chloe asked, confused, "Why would it matter on what's a lie and what's true? Isn't it good enough to use anything that could go against them and ruin their reputation?"

"Yes, there are most times where a lie could be used against them, but that lie can backfire." Warren replied, "If not used carefully, a lie used against them can be a gamble."

"So what you're saying here is, if we use a lie against them, it'll just cause more trouble for us?" Max interrupted.

"Exactly." Warren looked over at Max with a smile and a nod, "If we're wanting to really twist their arm we need full on proof of their illicit attributions."

"And how the hell are we supposed to get shit like that? We can't just easily find it on the fucking side walk or easily access their database." Chloe's irritation rose.

"We may not that easily, but..." Max started to talk, but stopped for a moment, looking at Warren.

"What...? Why are you looking at me like that?" Warren tensed up by the sudden stare.

"But we do have a guinea pig that can get close to the Prescott home." Chloe smirked.

"Wh-What...? H-Hell no! Fuck no! I am not getting close to the devil himself! It'll be fucking suicide!" Warren denied it right off the bat, terrified by the suggestion.

"Well, are you wanting everyone's life to always be hell in this town?" Chloe tried to convince him, "You'll be a hero."

"I know this may be a long shot, but it's all or nothing, Warren." Max tagged in to try and convince him.

"Or are you going to continue being on the sidelines and have your ass saved by a _girl_ all the time?" Chloe started to put effort into hitting a nerve, "Always rely on Max. Having her be the hero while you just stay in the shadows. Are you going to be that type of man the rest of your life?" The teen went behind him and whispered in his ear.

Warren sat there in silence. Confusion and discontent clouding over him and hitting almost every nerve. Memories suddenly started flashing before his eyes. Remembering each time he got struck, beaten, teased, laughed at, and bullied each and everyday ever since he began to attend that school. And each flashback he had ended up making him snap. His hands clenched into tight fists, suddenly turning them as red as a tomato. Right then and there, he nodded. He agreed to take that risk.

"Fine. I want to see the Prescott's go down in flames. I want Nathan to suffer as much as I have. I want to end it here and I want to end it now." He looked at the girls with determination and aggravation, "Where shall we start?"

"That's my boy." Chloe chuckled, "Time to make a plan." The teen grabbed the whiteboard and marker from the garage and they began to list things each one of them had to do and where to start.

"Let the games begin." Warren smirked.

** _The Next Day..._ **

Warren's heart was racing out of control as he was approaching a place he never imagined stepping foot into. His anxiety rose. Every nerve of his was tensing up to the point of where there was a possibility of an anxiety attack. He was suffocating from his own saliva each time he swallowed hard. The tension kept building up to the point of where he was about to faint. As he inched closer and closer to that doorway to the lions den, he wanted to turn around and bail.

"**_You can do this Warren. I believe in you._**" Warren suddenly heard the little confidence boost Max gave him through the little earpiece.

He breathed in deeply and slowly exhaled with a nod. Courage slowly built up inside him. As he reached the door, his hand froze part way through his will to knock. Warren was hesitant for a moment, but only for a moment. He breathed in as much oxygen as he could and slowly exhaled. The tension began to subside as he closed his eyes which helped him begin to knock on the door.

"Please don't be home..." He mumbled to himself.

"Who the fuck is-?! Oh, it's you..." And there, it was Warren's first day of facing his fear by will and sadly not going to be his last.


	4. Unanswered Prayers

Chapter Text

"What the hell do you want, Gayram? And how the hell did you get here? We have a gate to keep people like you out." Nathan crossed his arms, glaring daggers at the nervous teen.

"I jumped the fence, how else do you think I got here? Levitation? Geez... no wonder we were assigned partners. Can't even think of a simple thing like that, huh?" Warren sighed deeply, looking to the side then gasped, covering his mouth again, praying Nathan didn't hear, but of course, Warren ended up leading himself to a death sentence.

"Excuse me? What the fuck did you just say?!" Nathan grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so, so, so, sorry! Please don't kill me!" Warren covered his face, praying for forgiveness, his heart beating out of control.

"Nathan?" A man walked up to the door, "What are you doing to our... guest?"

Nathan groaned after hearing his dad approach them that he ended up releasing Warren. Warren peeked to see who it was that practically saved him and that was walking towards them. A light chuckle escaped as the teen sighed with relief as he noticed he was still breathing.

"What do you want, dad?" Nathan growled.

Mr. Prescott looked over at Warren then grabbed Nathan by the wrist and pulled him aside so Warren couldn't hear their conversation. He saw their expressions, so all he could do was speculate on what they were saying. Nathan looked pissed as all hell while his dad gave him a stern look. He noticed Nathan clenched his hands tightly as he saw his hands become as red as a tomato. A look of concern came across his face as an unfavorable thought crossed his mind. It looked like Nathan was going to deck his dad any minute, but his assumption was wrong.

"What...?" Once Mr. Prescott left the room, he saw Nathan look down, loosening his grip as a look of sorrow came across his face.

Warren was perplexed by the facial expression Nathan had on his face, but what shocked him the most was a look of tears sliding down his face. He only saw it for a moment before Nathan wiped his face, changing his expression back to his usual angered look. Warren shivered by the quick change of characteristic. The teen slowly backed away from the door once he saw Nathan's glare reappear, assuming death was coming his way again. He wanted to bolt, but he was rooted to ground when he heard a sharp growl. His heart was beating out of his chest as his predator was getting closer and closer. Warren closed his eyes, waiting for his execution, in yet it didn't arrive, instead...

"Get your ass in here. You better have the papers." Nathan gripped on the door, awaiting for Warren to enter the house.

"Huh...?" Warren looked at him, shocked.

"Get your ass in here. _NOW_!" Nathan spoke sharply, giving Warren the death stare.

"Y-Yes, sir!" He stood up straight and walked in the house as if he was in the military.

"Stop being a fucking idiot and hurry up! I don't have time for a piece of shit like you in my life right now." Nathan groaned with irritation, slamming the door shut.

Warren felt a sting in his chest after hearing that come out of Nathan's mouth. It left him questioning on the reason why. It didn't make sense to him. He heard worst things come from this guys mouth, in yet, after hearing such a remark from him, it stung him sharply as if being stabbed in the chest. The teen shook his head, trying to ignore the feeling as he walked into the Prescott home, suddenly tensing up by the aura he felt in that atmosphere.

"What the hell's your problem? What? Never entered a manor before you penniless freak?" Nathan chuckled.

Warren groaned from the continuous negative comments, but tried his best to ignore every one of them. He sighed deeply, hoping Nathan wouldn't hear, but if he did, Warren cared little to none. The teen tried to ease his tension by observing the atmosphere that he ended up forgetting he was in his enemies house.

"Hey, idiot? I'm fucking talking to you!" Nathan hit him in the back of the head, irritated.

"Ah, God. What?!" Warren rubbed the back of his head, annoyed by the sudden strike.

"Listen, I want to get this over with! I want to see you little to none, remember?" Nathan yanked Warren towards him by the collar, scowling.

"Yes, I remember. After all, you and I are mutual on that plan." He grumbled, "Here, this is for you." The teen held out a notebook.

"Good." Nathan was about to grab it, but Warren held it up in the air, "What the fuck, Gayram? Hand it over."

"_BUT_ there is sadly one thing I have to tell you." He began, "I hate this as much as you do, but we... we have to work together on this for a few months. Some of these things involve two people, sadly to say."

"What? You're shitting me right, Graham?!" His voice rose with anger.

"I'm sorry to say, but if you're wanting to ace this we have to... we have to team up on this project. I have everything planned out. So... So... I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I need your help on this, Prescott." The adolescent groaned as if in defeat.

"Christ... fine, but this better be quick." Nathan glared at the nervous teen, "Follow me."

"Wait, where are we going?" Warren questioned.

"To my room, what the fuck do you think? Thought we were going on a study date or what, moron?" The teen looked over his shoulder.

"N-No, of course not! Geez, who would ever want to-?!" The adolescent covered his mouth before the whole sentence escaped his lips.

"Better watch what you say if you don't want to be six feet under, Gayram. Got it?!" He spoke sternly, using a death threat.

"I-I got it, okay? So please... don't kill me." Warren held up his hands as if surrendering his whole being.

"Good." Nathan chuckled, feeling as though he has full control over the scared teen, "Now then, time to continue this elsewhere." The adolescent continued to head towards his room.

Warren sighed, feeling utter relief. His tension didn't fade, but he was glad he could still breathe. As he followed Nathan to his room, he saw family portraits. They all looked... mournful as if each time their pictures were taken was during a funeral. It struck him by surprise that he was bewildered on how to view this guy. He couldn't tell if he should feel sorry or content for the expression he saw on the younger Nathan Prescott. Before he reached Nathan's room he heard Chloe talk.

"**_Warren? You find anything yet?_**" Chloe asked anxiously.

Warren jolted, forgetting he had an earpiece in his ear. He saw Nathan didn't notice that he startled for a second. He stopped in his tracks, wondering how to respond without Nathan finding out. The adolescent saw Nathan turn, looking at him with bewilderment that the first thing that came out of his mouth was...

"Where's your bathroom?" Warren asked, tensely.

"Third door on the right, down that hall." Nathan pointed out, irritation rising, "Hurry up. I don't want to spend all day with someone like you."

"O-Okay!" Warren bolted to the bathroom, feeling he had a time limit.

He reached the door and ran in, shutting the door quickly and locking it. The teen leaned against the door, trying to catch his breath before responding. Warren stood up and walked away from the door so no one could hear him talking.

"No, I just entered the chambers of hell. Now I'm in the bathroom, trying to calm down." Warren responded with bated breath.

"**_What's going on, Warren?_**" Max joined in, curious.

Warren peeked out the door, seeing what Nathan was up to before returning to respond. But before he closed the door, he saw Nathan talking to someone on his phone. He assumed it was Chase at first, but with the look he had on his face, it was as though he was talking to someone... respectfully. Something very unusual of Nathan to do.

"What the hell...?" Warren tilted his head, confused, "Who could he be talking to...?"

"**_Warren? Hey, Warren! What's going on?_**" The girls asked through the earpiece.

"I don't know... he's on the phone with someone. I'll... get back to you guys." He ended the chat as he snuck up closer to eavesdrop on the conversation, "Who could it possibly be...?" Warren questioned himself.

"Yeah... I'll get back to you tonight. I got to finish something and I'll meet you after." Nathan responded, "Yeah, of course. Okay, later." The teen sighed as he hung up the phone, leaning against the wall as if lost in thought.

Warren was perplexed by what was going on. He kept in mind of what just happened so he could tell the girls. The teen waited for Nathan to look the other way so he could walk up to him, trying not to expose that he was eavesdropping. As he waited, he noticed Nathan looked over in his direction. Warren hid behind a big planter, praying he's not heading towards his direction, but he felt his prayers weren't being answered as he heard footsteps heading towards him. At that moment, he felt completely screwed...


	5. Playing It Off

Chapter Text

"Come on! Come on! Please turn around!" Warren frantically prayed, "Don't come this way... I beg of you..."

Warren's heart was beating out of control. He felt like the grim reaper was walking to his doorstep, just inches away from death. He kept hoping and praying for him to be saved in any way, shape or form. The teen felt his prayers weren't being answered. He felt he was going to die that day. As he saw one foot beside him, close to moving forward, he suddenly heard a phone go off.

"Hello?" Nathan growled as he answered, "What the fuck do you want now?!"

Once the frightened teen saw Nathan head the other way, sounding irritated, he knew it was his time to take his chance to play it off as if he just walked out of the bathroom. As he stood up, he saw an angry Nathan Prescott clench his phone as he was snarled out of annoyance. Warren stiffened once seeing Nathan give a deathly stare when he glared over at him.

"What did you hear?" Nathan growled lowly, sounding irritated to where he's about to lose it.

"H-Huh? I-I didn't hear anything!" Warren held up his hands, trembling like a scared puppy, surrendering.

"Better not have!" Nathan spoke sharply, turning the other way to head towards his bedroom, "Let's get this over with quickly! I need somewhere to go..."

"Y-Yes, sir..." Warren spoke with a cowering tone.

Nathan walked in his room, waiting for Warren to walk in after him. Once they were in his room, he slammed the door behind them. Warren looked all around it, noticing it was dark, close to being pitch black to where you can barely see anything. He shivered out of fear, wanting to ask where the light switch is, but he felt if he did he would get chewed out or beaten to a pulp.

"I... like what you have set up here." Warren lied, knowing what he just said made him sound stupid.

"Will you just shut up and get to the point already?!" Nathan scowled, turning on the lights.

Once Nathan turned the lights on, Warren covered his eyes, blinded by the light, then looked all around, his eyes widening out of surprise. He heard his dorm room was dark and scary, but in this one... it looked as though it was a normal room. It was even clean which made Warren amazed by the surroundings. His white walls looked like it was freshly painted, no dirt, grime, nor scratch marks on them at all. His bookshelves were all nicely set up, all the books organized and set neatly in a row. His bed all made up, no wrinkles on the blankets. His burnished wood floor was spotless-no clothes, photos, nothing was left on it. And his desk was clean to where you could see your own reflection, the only thing that was on it was his desktop, laptop, camera, and folder. Everything was all organized.

"Wow..." Warren said out of amazement.

"What? Never been in a rich persons room? Or have you just never seen a clean room in general, you pig?" Nathan spat out, sounding impatient.

Warren was stung by the remark, but he tried to let it slide while he put effort into explaining things to an angry Prescott, "It's nothing... let's just get this over with." He sighed, trying to calm down his irritation, "Here are the notes- you're needing to look up these words and write short definitions of them while I write the facts about each one of them. Here are the blueprints and materials we're needing to get and go over for-"

"Wait, _blueprints_? For what? Are we going to build something? Is that why we're having to _work together_ for the next few months?" Nathan asked with irritation.

"Look... Prescott, if you're wanting to ace this class we need to end this year with a bang." Warren sighed, trying to stay calm.

"Why the fuck do we need to end this year with a bang? Can't we just keep things simple and have less interactions with one another?" Nathan questioned, glaring at the timid teen.

"Can we please not fight about this and just get this done? I want to spend little to none, just like you Prescott. So please just follow these so we can get this over with ASAP." Warren responded, trying not to sound scared nor irritated enough to raise Nathan's look of anger.

"Christ... fine, just leave the list of things I'm needing to look up and the materials I'm needing to get. I'll leave the rest up to you, Graham." Nathan responded with resignation, simmering down his temper.

Warren was shocked by the sudden response that a smile was about to appear, but he tried to play it off as though he didn't realize anything, well all except one thing, "Did you just say my actual last name...?"

"Don't get used to it, Gayram!" Nathan spoke sharply, returning to his usual self.

"**_And there he is, back at his usual attitude._**" Max suddenly spoke, making Warren jump from surprise.

"What's wrong with you this time?" Nathan questioned, noticing Warren jump.

"H-Huh? O-Oh! It's- It's nothing, I just sometimes... twitch at random times." Warren lied.

"_Twitch_...?" Nathan spoke lowly, suddenly remembering that same word he continuously heard from others several times.

"Prescott...? Is something wrong?" Warren questioned.

"Give me the notes and get out..." Nathan mumbled.

"What did you say...?" Warren didn't hear clear enough.

Nathan snatched the notebook and pushed Warren out of his room, "Get the fuck out of my room! I have no time to talk to a lame ass wuss like you!"

Warren was shocked by the words that left Nathan's lips. They weren't really new words to him and were words he practically heard on a daily basis. But this time, these words actually stung him.

"**_Warren? Hey! You there, bud?_**" Chloe spoke next, "**_You left the device inside the notebook, right?_**"

"Huh...? Oh! Yeah... everything we set up is in place." Warren whispered, snapping out of his sudden shock.

"**_Okay, well get back here, it sounds like things are already starting!_**" Max butt in.

Warren felt a sharp pain in his ear after Max spoke loudly, "Ah, geez, Max..." Warren sighed, removing the earpiece.

The teen left the house and then ran back to Chloe's truck that was hidden in the woods, not far from the Prescott home. Warren was running out of breath, but his anxiousness kept him going. The adolescent couldn't wait to listen in on Nathan and what juicy secrets they have to find out. Once he reached Chloe's truck, he saw smirks across the girls' faces, Chloe's eyes glued to her laptop screen while hearing Nathan talking. While Max sat beside her, smiling out of joy as if she found something that piqued her interest.

"What'd you guys find-" Max shushed him, waving her hand in the air in front of his face while she continued listening in. Warren sighed deeply, scooting inside to listen in on it, too.

"**_Alright, I'll see you there in a bit, I just have to get things and I'll be over soon._**" Nathan began, "**_Yes, I know who that is. I remember where I'm having to meet her. I'll bring her over tonight, stop reminding me. I got all of this under control._**"

Warren's eyebrows furrowed by curiosity, wondering what was going on. The girls looked so absorbed on the conversation that it made Warren concerned for a moment. But what ended up concerning him more was the next thing that came out of Nathan's mouth.

"**_Yes, I have the drugs in my dorm._**" Nathan continued, "**_Yes, I know who I'm having to give it to. Stop pestering me! I know who I'm having to get!_**" It sounded as though Nathan has reached the point of agitation which made Warren's curiosity turn to concerns.

"What could he be talking about...?" Warren questioned himself, no answers being given to his mind.

"I have no fucking clue, but if we're able to play this off and get to the point of this, we'll have everything we need. Or at least enough to lead us to his father." Chloe responded, "His father is the main key to the reasons of this shitty life everyone has here in Arcadia Bay."

"I know we have to get to his father, but why...?" Warren paused, noticing something he never expected to ask, let alone say aloud.

"Why what?" Max asked.

"_Why do we need to use his son?_ Is that what you were going to ask, Warren?" Chloe finished his question for him, "Please tell me you don't have sympathy for this asshole..."

"What? Of course not! Why would I ever have sympathy for this asshole?" Warren said, going straight into denial.

"Good, because we just started phase one, now we have to head towards the next one." Chloe spoke, relieved, "It looks like he's going to have a party in his backyard with the Vortex Club members, so Warren...?" She looked up at him.

"What...?" Warren asked, hesitantly.

"We need you to get to that party." Chloe responded, "Think you can crash it and stay on Nathan's tail? It seems it's going to happen tonight."

"What?! Tonight?! I just got out of the lions den!" He frantically spoke.

"I know and bravo to your heroism, but we just started. We need you, Warren. Will you continue being our hero?" Chloe asked, pretending to beg as she clasped her hands together, looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes, Max following along.

Warren groaned as he covered his face, "Fine, but I can't do anything tomorrow, I need to focus on starting up this project, okay?" Sliding his hands down his face with a deep sigh.

"Yes! Agreed! You're a life saver, Warren!" Chloe and Max hugged him tightly, "Now we need to get you dressed up, we can't have you dressed up like... like _this_."

"Like what?" Warren looked at his attire, "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You look nice and everything, but you need to be at their level of fashion and social status to be around Prescott." Chloe responded, "We can't keep you looking like... like a geek."

"What? How does this make me look like a geek?!" Warren felt offended.

"Warren... I love how you like being original, but for the time being, we need you to dress up like a clone." Max spoke up, "You're our spy, so we need you to dress the part. Disguise yourself as the others."

Warren groaned, not having the will to go against Max's wishes, "Fine... but I'm not paying for the clothes, plus, I don't even know where to start..."

"No need to worry about that, I have a close friend that knows how to dress. She may stand out, but she knows how to blend in." Chloe smirked.

"Are you talking about...?" Max asked, slightly hesitant.

"Exactly." Chloe smiled widely.

"Who are you talking about?" Warren asked, curiously concerned.

"You'll see. You'll love her." Chloe giggled as if cupid struck her with an arrow.

"Oh geez, not this again..." Max sighed deeply.

"What's wrong with her...?" Warren asked, concerned, "Why does it look like she just got love-struck?"

"You'll see..." Max responded, sounding slightly irritated.

Warren was left in the dark, awaiting for his question to be answered as they headed towards their next destination after packing everything away. Chloe was humming as she was focused on the road, looking a little distracted. Max sighed deeply, trying to ignore the look of admiration that was on Chloe's face. And Warren sat there, looking out the window, questions boggling in his head.

They arrived within minutes. Warren looked out the window, noticing a nice house in front of them. He was amazed by the look of it. It looked as though it was a manor. The adolescent was about to question who lived here, but once he saw someone open the front door and run towards them, a perplexed look came across his face as he tilted his head, wondering this mysterious teen that walked out of the house. Then the mysterious teens eyes landed on Warren, making him tense up by the intense look in her hazel eyes, making him feel as though he was being buried alive from her sudden stare.

"Hey, it's great to meet someone new. My name's Amber, Rachel Amber." She held her hand out with a genuine smile, awaiting for him to meet her half way.


	6. Time to Get Ready

**Chapter Text**

"Um... it's nice to meet you, too. I'm Warren Graham." He was averse for a moment, but reached out and shook her hand.

"I've actually heard a lot about you from Maxipad over here!" She giggled, looking over at Max.

"Please don't use that nickname... I already hear it enough from Chloe." Max sighed deeply.

"Max talks about me?" Warren asked, surprised.

"N-Not in that kind of-oof!" Max got interrupted with a nudge on her side.

"Oh, she does__constantly__, right Rachel?" Chloe stopped her, beginning her usual tease.

"Oh, she says so many great things about you." Rachel tagged in.

"__Guys__! Will you shut up...? We have no time for this!" Max tried to stopped them by bringing up that excuse.

"Hm? What's going on?" Rachel questioned.

"Huh? Oh! Um... nothing! We just wanted to ask if you could help Warren change his look a bit." Chloe answered automatically, not wanting to inform Rachel on what's really going on.

"Why are you acting so...__fidgety__ right now? It's not like you, Chloe." Rachel placed her hand on Chloe's which led her face to turning slightly red.

"Chloe... stop gawking and answer your girl..." Max whispered, nudging her back gently.

"It's- It's nothing! Really! Warren just wanted to get close to the cool kids at your school. Especially to Nathan Prescott." She chuckled, trying to place their attention towards Warren.

"Huh... you of all people want to get close to the King of Blackwell Academy?" Rachel asked, disbelieving Chloe's words.

Warren groaned, noticing Chloe look at him with pleading eyes, "Y-Yes, he is my lab partner after all." Warren lied.

"You're lab partners with that guy?" Rachel was shocked, "Ha! That's rich! Nathan Joshua Prescott actually taking part in school this year?" Rachel busted out laughing.

"Wh-What's so funny...?" The three adolescents questioned.

"Nathan is not the type to even give a __shit__ about school. Why in the world would he be giving a shit about it now?" Rachel continued to laugh to the point of where her sides were hurting.

"That, I don't understand either..." Warren responded, "But besides that, will you help?"

Rachel was coming back to her calm self, lessening on her laughter, "Yeah, I'll help you out." She smiled, "If you're a friend of Chloe's you're a friend of mine." She smiled.

Warren's face suddenly turned red by the look of purity on her face. Max looked on both sides of her, seeing Warren gawk at her just like Chloe. She nudged both of them hard with annoyance as she pushed Chloe out of the truck, demanding they hurry. Max was frustrated by the negligence they were giving to the plan they came up with yesterday. She denied it was jealousy that was boiling inside her, but deep inside her thoughts, it clearly was, she was just in complete rebuttal.

"Thanks for helping us out Rach'." Chloe stood beside her, smiling contently at her with appreciation.

"No problem, I'm having to get dressed up myself." She responded, "There's a party going on tonight it seems. You should come along. The more the merrier." Rachel grabbed Chloe's hand, looking at her with a big grin.

"Wh-What? N-No... I possibly can't, I don't really want to join a party full of ri-" Chloe caught herself before saying anything that could offend Rachel, "I just don't feel I'll fit in. __BUT__ I know Warren would have a small chance if you help him out." Chloe grabbed Warren's wrist and pushed him in front of Rachel.

Warren felt completely awkward. He was rooted to the floor with offensiveness from Chloe's words and Rachel's look of intimidation. His eyes roamed around constantly, unable to look at any of the girls as everyone waited for a response from Rachel.

"Hm... you don't look so bad." Rachel began, "Lets just comb your hair back a bit and change your style of clothing." She grabbed his wrist and led him into her house.

Everyone walked up to her room, awaiting for her to change Warren's appearance to their level of style. Rachel was looking in her closet for some boy clothes she had from her previous exes. She wasn't proud nor happy to have memories of them, but she did love their clothes. The only thing she kept from them.

"Okay... here! Try this on." She shoved clothes in front of him, "This will be for starters. Once you're done, we'll do something more with that hair of yours."

Warren looked at the clothes, a little impressed, but uncomfortable as well. He didn't know exactly what to think about the style the Vortex Club wears, but he gave a crooked smile with a light chuckle. The design of the clothing didn't look so bad, so he agreed to giving it a shot. He asked where the restroom was and was about to head towards the door until Rachel tugged him back by the arm.

"Huh...?" Warren looked back, confused on why she stopped him.

"Hey, you're a guy, don't be shy." Rachel giggled.

The teen was perplexed by what she was expecting from him. He stared at her with a confused look on his face when tilting his head, giving the look of __what?__ to her. Rachel smirked with a faint chuckle, giving the look of 'you know'. Right when he finally understood, he gasped, shaking his head frantically as his face became as red as a rose.

"N-No, no, no, no, no! I-I'd prefer the bathroom!" He backed towards the door.

Rachel puffed her cheeks out with a sigh then looked at him with a grin, "What? Too shy to dress up in front of your own girlfriend?" She giggled, "I thought you guys have already reached that point in your relationship." Rachel looked over at Max then back at Warren. The two teens shook their heads, freaking out, showing signs that they haven't gone far, let alone started anywhere near her expectations.

"N-No, no, no, no! W-We're not even a couple!" Max refused quickly.

"Y-Yeah, no! We're not!" It stung Warren's chest sharply, but he was relieved they were both denying at that time, "W-We're just... just-"

"Someday soon you guys won't be." Chloe chuckled with a smirk as her arms were folded, walking around the two, "You two know you're gonna become a couple sooner or later."

"WHAT?! N-No! Definitely not!" They both said in unison.

"Anyway, come on Warren, it'll get you out of your shell more if you do this." Rachel winked with a mischievous grin, "Won't he guys?" She looked over at the girls. They were hesitant for a moment, but went along with her.

The timid boy felt uncomfortable by the thought that crossed this mysterious girls mind. He felt intimidated by the look in her eyes. They weren't deadly. Nothing compared to the look in Nathan's eyes when they become the shade of Navy when looking deep into Warren's. As the thought of that passed his mind, he suddenly felt a chill go up his spine as his heart suddenly skipped a beat. Warren placed his hand on his chest, trying to understand the odd feeling, but washed it away by examining the outfit before putting it on stiffly in front of the three teenage girls.

The clothes Rachel gave him looked nice, that they all looked practically new. The pitch black vest had long sleeves rolled up behind the cuffs of a white collared shirt underneath it. A few buttons were at the top of the white shirt that there were a few that were unbuttoned, exposing the chest a little. Between the black shirt and white shirt was a loose black tie. Then there came the dark blue jeans with a black belt, long white socks, and pure black sneakers.

Warren gulped hard before stripping himself one by one to where he only had his briefs on. He couldn't look at the girls, but he did hear a familiar giggle coming from one girl which made his heart race rapidly. The young man put on the jeans first and tightened the belt, then the shirt and adjusted the tie, then the socks and then the shoes. Warren was amazed everything fit. He ruffled up his hair a bit then stood still as if he were planted to the floor, awaiting to hear words come from the girls.

"Wow... you look great Warren..." Max spoke first, surprised to where she didn't even notice her cheeks were becoming a little flush.

"Not bad." Chloe spoke after.

"Not bad at all, but..." Rachel walked up to him, "Let's work on the clothes a bit..."

Rachel tucked in one side of the white shirt beneath the jeans while the other side was sticking out beneath the black vest. She unbuttoned a couple more buttons to expose part of his chest a little more. Loosened his tie a little more to align with the buttons that were unbuttoned. Rolled up the bottom of the jeans so it wouldn't drag on the ground. Then finished it off with putting gel in his hair, slicking it back.

"There... Now you're good to go." Rachel smiled happily, satisfied by how he turned out, "Well, girls? How does he look?"

"Damn, he looks pretty great." Chloe chuckled, amazed by Rachel's work, "Nicely done."

"N-Not that bad. You look really... great, Warren." Max's face was becoming a little redder by the second as her heart rate was becoming a little faster.

"Aww, do I see twinkles in those eyes of yours, Max?" Rachel giggled, noticing Max's expression.

"Wh-What?! No! O-Of course not!" She denied automatically, looking away, "I'm just impressed on your work, that's all."

Warren looked over, his face turning just as red, then clearing his throat, "W-Well, thanks so much, Rachel." He smiled faintly at her, "Am I missing anything else?" He questioned.

"I think you're all set." She smiled softly, "I'll be back really quick, let me just get ready. After that, we'll head over, 'k?" She looked through her closet and rushed to the bathroom to change.

Everyone stood in her room, silently waiting for her return, wondering what she was going to wear. The silence broke once Max spoke up, "So... how is this going to work? How will Warren be able to stay on Prescott's tail when he has no experience of socializing at a Vortex Club party? Hell, __any__ party at all actually."

"That I'm not one hundred percent sure on, but this time we'll need you to wear a wire, not unless we can ask Rachel to put a hat on you to cover up this earpiece." Chloe replied, "The only thing that's crossing my mind that could get you to being able to stick around Prescott is-?!"

"Is what?!" Warren asked, feeling a bit hesitant by Chloe's sudden pause.

"So you really want to be near Prescott that badly?" Rachel asked, walking up behind them, "Well, I have one solution for that that I think might work." She folded her arms with a grin.

"And that would be...?" Everyone asked in unison, every one of them were curious and concerned of the thought that would be coming out of Rachel Amber's mouth.


	7. Twitch

Chapter Text

"Hey, you okay?" Rachel placed her hand on Warrens shoulder with curiosity and concern.

"Huh? Oh! I'm t-totally fine..." Warren replied, deceiving himself so he doesn't get stressed with deep concerns of the outcomes.

"Hey, I'll be here with you whenever you need help, okay? Everything will be fine. I'm sure of it." Rachel spoke with a soft voice to sooth Warren's nerves.

"Th-Thanks..." He replied, taking a deep breath, then slowly exhaling.

The two teens walked towards the backyard. Once they opened the back gate Warren tensed up automatically after noticing all the teens from the Vortex Club attending there. Warren was frozen stiff to the point of where Rachel had to push him in.

"Everything will be fine... remember what I told you." She whispered in his ear.

Warren nodded, slowly walking forward with slight help from Rachel's push. The young man sighed deeply, placing his hand on his chest before putting his hands in his jean pockets. He could barely look around at all the students that bullied him both emotionally and physically. The memories made him tremble as if it was PTSD striking him right in the chest and mind. Rachel rubbed his back, signalling she'll always be beside him if anything happens. He nods telling himself he can do it to hype-up his confidence to step forward.

"Hey everyone!" Rachel walked up, standing beside the nervous teen that looked like he was about to puke by the look of his deathly pale skin, "You all know Warren, right?" She giggled, acting.

"What the fuck is Gayram doing here?" Nathan asked, irritated as all hell for Warren attending the party, "He's not a member of this club."

"Yeah, did something hit your head on the way here, Rachel? Why did you bring a geek like him here?" Victoria joined in.

"I told you we shouldn't have made her a Vortex Member." Courtney added.

"Shut it, Courtney. He's not even worth noticing." Nathan cut in, "Why the fuck him anyway? You feeling sorry for this puss-ass or have you fucking lost it?" He glared over at Warren.

"He's my plus one. I always wanted to make new friends. Is there a problem?" She glared at the pissed off Nathan.

"Tsk... whatthefuckever..." He mumbled, turning away and walking off, "Do as you fucking please." Nathan resigned with annoyance.

"Well, doesn't someone look pissed?" Warren mumbled with a chuckle.

"Shut the fuck up, Warren or I swear to God you'll be seeing him real fucking soon." Nathan turned to give a deadly glare, then walked off with irritation still boiling inside him.

"And that's your queue." She giggled, "I'm going to get a drink. If you ever need anything, I'll be by the bar." Rachel pointed over by the bar with a smile before heading over.

"Alright..." Warren mumbled, breathing in and out slowly to calm his anxiety before approaching Nathan.

As Warren headed over to Nathan, he constantly heard whispers from the members he passed by. It made him feel so out of place, but his reasons for this helped him push through. Though each word stabbed him, it was nothing compared to the fear he had when approaching his predator. He closed his eyes as a deep sigh escaped his lips. Once he reached Nathan, his mind boggled with the thought of the plan from earlier.

** _One Hour Earlier..._ **

"Everyone has a weakness to a point to where you can crawl under their skin. There are consequences to each one, but there are upsides to it." Rachel began, "With Nathan, he's a gamble, but once you know how to make him vulnerable in the right spots at the right time, you'll have him right in the palm of your hand."

"Damn, you sure do know your stuff, Rach'." Chloe complimented, "How do you know this kind of shit?" She questioned.

"When you're in the club for so long and have a parent that knows techniques to know more about someone, you get to learn several secrets many keep from society." Rachel giggles, "All it takes is manipulation."

"_Manipulation_...?" Warren asked, sounding hesitant.

"I'm not so sure Warren could do anything as possible as that..." Max brought up.

"Well, if he's wanting to get closer to him, he has to do as much as he can to reach him." Rachel responds.

"It's all or nothing, Max. Don't forget the shit we're having to go through." Chloe whispered, "So please try and talk to your boy about this."

Max groaned with annoyance and guilt, "Warren... do you think you can-"

"I'll do it." Warren responded within seconds, "What are his weaknesses?"

"That'll be something you have to figure out on your own. I can start you with all I know about him, but from there on, you have to see what hits him and what pisses him off." Rachel replied, "That's why I'm saying this is a gamble."

"_A gamble_... okay... what should I do?" He questioned, feeling lost.

The girls were surprised by the response, but Rachel and Chloe smiled, leaving Max to be the only one left with concerns.

"Okay, well, there are only two things I know that will cause both a disadvantage and an advantage." Rachel started off.

"And what would they be...?" Warren questioned with concern.

"Well, three actually." Rachel corrected herself, "The first one would be his father, the second one would be Victoria, and the third one would be Twitch."

"_Twitch_...? What do you mean _Twitch_?" Warren asked, confused.

"He was teased a lot during freshman and sophomore year. People called him _Twitch_ because of certain conditions." Rachel responded.

"What do you mean by _conditions_?" His concern continued to increase by the word.

"I assume you all know he has problems with his mentality." Rachel saw everyone nod, "Well, one of his issues that seems to be bothering him is that he has muscle spasm."

"Muscle spasm? Is that why he always looks so fidgety?" Warren questioned, confused.

"Exactly." Rachel responded, "So, learn more about his father, get close to Vic, and use the nickname he hates with a burning passion." The teen giggled, making the other teens feel concern towards her responses.

"This sounds like fucking suicide..." Warren mumbles, worrisome swarming deep inside him, rising to the top.

"You can always back out, Warren." Max placed her hand on his shoulder, "We can make it through this year without doing this."

"No... I can't just keep standing in the shadows and let him continue torturing everyone I care about." Warren looked at Max with determination, "I can't stand that asshole! I can't let him keep doing whatever the hell he fucking pleases! This is our final year... so this is our year to stand up to the fucking Prescott family and lead them to a fucking downfall!" He huffed with a growl as his muscles loosened from the sudden tensity.

"Damn, with this level of confidence, you'll do just fine." Rachel smirked, "Your boy will definitely be able to get close to the spawn of Satan indeed."

"Okay Warren..." Max smiled faintly, concerned of the outcomes, "I'll be beside you if you ever need help, okay?" She patted his back as though she was comforting him.

"Your man can do this, Max." Chloe chuckled, "Your man can _definitely_ do this."

Max groaned with irritation, trying to just let their teasing slide even though it was difficult for her to ignore their ignorance. She tried to keep herself distracted by the admiration she suddenly had towards her friend Warren. The adolescent never expected to view him differently in the light he suddenly appeared in, but she did not mind the sudden change of appearance. She was still in denial towards the sudden emotions, but the teen definitely didn't hide her way of gawking.

"I see you're starting to view him in a different light?" Rachel popped up behind her, gripping Max's shoulders as though she were a fan girl shipping her two friends, "Well, you best hurry or else he may end up with someone else." She smirked with a wink as she walked towards Warren, pulling him out the door to head to the party.

Chloe and Max looked at Rachel's smirk and Warren's look of shyness towards one another which led them to feeling something simmer deep inside them. Denial kept blocking their true view that they brushed it off. Though the thought crossed their minds as they saw Rachel and Warren suddenly become buddy, buddy to each other.

"Time to head out!" Rachel wrapped her arms around Max and Chloe, tugging them out the door to head out.

** _Present Time..._ **

"H-Hey..." Warren was fidgety that all he could do was mumble, "Um... nice pl-!"

"Shut your fucking yap or I swear to you you'll never be able to use those goddamn lips of yours 'til the day you die." Nathan glared at Warren, trying to scare him to keep him off his back.

"Geez, something twist your balls in a knot or what... _Twitch_?" Warren was hesitant with that for a moment, but took his chance to bet on the results.

"What the fuck did you just call me?" Nathan tensed up as he gave Warren the death stare.

Warren was hesitant for going a second round, but built up his courage to say it again, "You heard me... _Twitch_." A smirk suddenly came across his face as he folded him arms.

Once Warren finished his response, he was grabbed by the collar by one hand and slammed on the table. He saw Nathan's eyes become navy as he stared deeply into his deathly glare. The look in Nathan's eyes made Warren feel as though Satan himself was sucking his soul right out of his body. Heavy breathing. Intense glare. Tight grip. A combination Warren was oh so familiar with. It shocked Warren a bit that his smirk didn't disappear, it just stayed there as he saw the look of death peering right into his amber colored eyes. The adolescent felt he was suffocating from the stare, but he had enough power to handle what was about to strike him once he saw Nathan's mouth open with the look of hatred as he rose his fist in the air, preparing to deck him.

"Enough!" Someone abruptly spoke up, bewildering Nathan and Warren as they looked to the side, taken aback.


	8. Unexpected Guest

Chapter Text

Once Nathan saw the person who spoke up, his grip on Warren became weak. He stumbled back, ending up on the ground as his facial expression changed from anger to sadness to a point of breaking down. He looked like a mess after seeing the person he hasn't seen nor heard from the past few years. The usually most outraged and bitter teen suddenly changed into one helpless person not many see. By force of habit, Nathan ended up putting himself into a fetal position, not knowing what to say nor do. It was as though he just surrendered to someone for the first time in his life that not many have ever faced before.

Warren adjusted his collar, stood up with confusion and sudden guilt as he looked down at Nathan, seeing him look as though he saw someone who abandoned him. Then he glanced over at the person who practically made Nathan heel. Amazement, regret, and shock swirled inside Warren, leaving him and everyone else speechless. No one has ever witnessed Nathan surrender to anything, let alone end up in a fetal position after exposing several emotions not many have ever viewed from him before. The only one that had no reaction to this sudden event was Nathan's best friend, Victoria Chase.

Victoria Chase may seem cruel, villainous, and a bully like Nathan, but none understands them. Nathan and Victoria may be the King and Queen of Blackwell Academy, but no one sees their true view towards society. They were never given an easy life which is what made each other understand one another that led them to becoming great friends. As Victoria looked over at the emotionally wrecked Nathan, she felt terrible for who she invited to the party, but happiness soon spread as she saw the special guest she invited walk over to Nathan, preparing to comfort him.

"Nathan..." The person walked up to him, bent down to his level and wrapped both arms around him, "I'm sorry for... I'm sorry for suddenly leaving you. But I kept my promise. See?"

"Who are you...?" Warren spontaneously questioned.

Without a response, the person glared over at the idiotic teen that became a complete dick to an emotionally unbalanced teen. Nathan twitched by the touch of the persons hands and could barely lift his head up to look. It sounded and looked as though Nathan was about to bawl. Everyone didn't know how to react. Warren was bewildered on what to do that he looked over at Rachel. Rachel was just as confused on what was going on. They have never seen this kind of Nathan before.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Nathan ended up pushing the person by impulse, his usual glare returning as he stood up with clenched hands.

The person was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say to him, "I know... I know what I did was unforgivable, but I had no choice, Nathan!" The person walked up slowly to him.

The look on his face was his common expression, but the look in his eyes appeared as though he was a lost puppy left in the dark. He looked scared. He looked completely different. The way he stood... The way he spoke... The way he looked... appeared entirely different than the normal stance he's usually in.

"Get out of my sight..." He mumbled, "Get out before I throw you out!" He continued with a growl.

His statement was faint, but the person heard him well enough to give in for that moment. Victoria was dismal by Nathan's reaction towards who appeared. She knew deep down that her best friend would have mixed emotions and react harshly, but her hopes were high that he would return the hug. After all, the person she invited was the one who always stood up for him. The one who always admired him. The one who stuck by him 'til the sudden up and leave with no explanation he received that last day of Freshman year.

"Samantha..." Victoria was about to try and stop her, but the teen held up her hand, accepting her disapproval of forgiveness.

Victoria didn't know how to feel once that awkward scene ended. She watched Samantha Myers walk away in shame until she vanished in the distant then looked at Nathan. She noticed all eyes were on him and that he was in an uncomfortable situation. Before she was about to say something, Rachel got everyone's attention and signaled Victoria to grab Nathan and take him away from the crowd.

"Come on, let's head to your room." Victoria whispered at him, grabbing his hand.

Warren was left in the dark, filled with nothing, but regret of the move he just did. Several emotions gave him mixed signals, but he noticed one thing... The only time he becomes a completely different person is when he talks to Chloe and Max. He kept telling himself that everything he was doing wasn't wrong, but deep down in his self-conscious he felt he knew with what he has been doing is no different than the way the bullies have been treating him.

Rachel spoke to everyone, trying to get them in the mood to continue partying before heading towards Warren with a drink in hand, "Well, wasn't that awkward?" She handed Warren a drink, "I never expected to see her again..." Rachel looked in the direction Samantha headed towards.

"Who was that?" Warren questioned her before taking a sip of the drink in the glass Rachel gave him, "Blah! Wh-What the hell is in this drink?!" Warren spat it out after tasting bitterness from it.

"What? Never had alcohol before?" Rachel chuckled, amused by Warren's sudden reaction.

"Geez, could've warned me." Warren chuckled, setting aside the glass, "A-Anyway, who was that?"

"Sorry, here, have mine, it's sweeter." Rachel giggled, "That person that walked away just now is Samantha Myers. I almost didn't recognize her until I heard Vic call out her name. She's an old friend of Nathan's. She was known to be the only kindest friend, besides Victoria, he had during Freshman year until she just up and left." Rachel informed him.

"What happened?" Warren asked for more info as he took a sip of the drink, not complaining about the taste this time.

"Not many people know about the real reason, but I assume her reason for leaving was by the cause of her dad." Rachel continued, "A rumor spread like wildfire that she had an abusive father and her mom just ran away, tugging Samantha along beside her to leave that hellhole of a house and that abusive man. About a week later, her dad died from alcohol poisoning. As for Samantha and her mother... no one's heard from them."

Warren was surprised by the short story, but it made him stop and think that the things him and the girls are planning may be more messed up than they first planned it through. He couldn't tell what was right or wrong. He was stuck in the gray area while Nathan and his minions were on the black side while his friends were on the white side. With the position Warren was in, he felt nothing, but shame at that moment.

"Why the hell is she here? What the fuck is she doing here?" Nathan spat out, irritated by the surprise appearance, covering his face with his hands.

"I... I found her on Facebook..." Victoria spoke up, sounding hesitant.

"_What_...?" Nathan looked up at Victoria with a scowled expression appearing on his face, "_Please_ tell I misheard what you just fucking said!"

"Nathan! Calm down! I just..." Victoria was baffled on how she was unable to respond to the angered Nathan.

"What? You just thought bringing someone from the past would help ease me?! You think inviting the person who practically abandoned me would be a good move to do?! You think doing this fucking spontaneously surprising move would have led to a change in my mood, let alone a change in my fucking life?!" Nathan bolted up, raising his voice after each word, "Heh... Nice fucking move, Vic... Nice. Fucking. Move."

"Nate, I'm sorry, okay?! It's just... the way you've been acting lately just isn't like you!" Victoria stood up, "This isn't like you at all, Nate! What changed you over the summer, huh? What happened? Why are you starting to shut even more people out of your life? Why are you shutting even me out?! What have I done to make you start avoiding me lately?!" Victoria rose her voice as tears began to slide down.

"Just... get out..." Nathan covered his eyes as his lips trembled, bewildered on how to react towards his own best friend.

"Nate! Stop shutting me out! I want to help you any way I can!" Victoria clenched her hands tightly with a look of overwhelming emotions.

"Get the fuck out of my room!" Nathan grabbed Victoria by the wrist and shoved her out, slamming his door behind her.

Victoria pounded on his door, continuously begging him to let her in. Nathan felt weak to the knees to the point of falling against the door, slamming his back against it, sliding down into a fetal position. The adolescents sat against the door on both sides, bawling with the feel of sharp pain spreading through their body. It was the beginning of their last year in High School and they've already reached the point of wanting things to end right then and there.

"Please, Nate... Please stop shutting me out..." Victoria whispered against the door, resting her head on it.

Nathan didn't respond. He just sat there in silence, having no single clue on what to say or do at that moment. He wanted to open back up to her, but to him, it felt as though everyone was going against him. It felt like reality was the depths of hell for him. His best friend doing something behind his back. His parents pressuring him like they did to his sister. The school giving him hell. The students talking behind him. An old friend reappearing in his life. And the geek that's his lab partner finding ways to crawl up his skin made him feel as though... made him feel as though his life was crashing down on him, shattering him into millions of pieces.

"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry, Nate... Please... Just please open up..." Victoria whimpered, her tone crackling by the cause of her tears.

"Just... get the fuck out of my house..." He spoke lowly as his feel of pain increased.

Victoria didn't know what to do. She felt she ended up in the same position as Samantha. She resigned for the time being. The adolescent stood up, wiped away the tears, rested her head on the door and spoke one more time before leaving the manor. Leaving Nathan with utter confusion on what he has left in his life.

"I'll always be here for you, Nate. Please never forget that..." Victoria spoke, "Please talk to me tomorrow... please don't end things the way you did with your sister..."

Nathan trembled with more tears sliding down his cheeks, burying his face between his arms and legs, rocking back and forth as though he was losing his mind. He heard footsteps walking away from his door, making him understand that Victoria did as he wished. He felt he was suffering by his own mind and emotions that he didn't know what to do. He sat there in silence, unable to do or think of anything, let alone move from that very spot. Though seconds after, his phone began to ring, making him jump and realize what he just missed doing.

"Shit..." Nathan groaned with annoyance as he stood up, grabbing his phone and looking out the window, "Yes? Yeah, she's still here. Yes, I'll bring her over soon, just... just give me a sec... I'll be there as soon as possible. Yeah... Later..." Nathan sighed deeply as he shoved his phone in his pocket, wiping away the tears and cleaning himself up before heading back outside to talk to the person he's having to grab for his next _experiment_, "Fucking asshole..." He walked out of his room with the same amount of anger as before to show no weakness per usual.


	9. Smooth Move

**Chapter Text**

**Note**: Nathan may seem out of character, but he has his reasons

Warren felt sick after what just happened. He would have preferred getting struck in the face by Nathan than being left with guilt and shock once Nathan loosened his grip on him. The adolescent couldn't forgive himself. It may seem little to others, especially to all the girls, but to him, his usual sense of empathy returned. The feeling of anger from the beginning of school vanished by the feel of sympathy. The feeling of annoyance from the time having to be spent with his bully vanished by the feel of sadness. And the feeling of hatred vanished by the feel of guilt.

When thinking back on what just happened. He wanted to stop then and there and get this year over with, even if it meant he had to give into the usual physically painful routine. He would prefer to feel physically beaten than emotionally. He wanted to resign, so he was going to tell the girls as he was about to head back home. The teen was about to leave the party, planning on leaving Rachel behind since she was dancing and drinking with everyone there. It didn't really surprise Warren on the actions he saw her committing since she was known to be the life of the party at almost every one of them she goes to. He chuckled under his breath as he watched her party like a fiend. She may look innocent, but after he realized how much of a party animal she's really like, he wasn't shocked.

The adolescent was about to head over and talk to Rachel to inform her he was heading out, but as he headed over, he saw Nathan walk over to Courtney who was standing a bit away from the dance floor as though she was avoiding the other members while looking at her phone. He wanted to walk over to apologize to him, even though the thought of it made him feel iffy on doing such a thing since it never crossed his mind on having to do that, but he knew he had to do what was right. As he walked in that direction, he stopped in his tracks, bewildered by what was going on. He has never seen Nathan act so... so charismatic, especially to women. Hes only seen his sadistic, twisted, and unbalanced side, but never seen him flirt with girls. It blew Warren away that all he could do was standby and watch.

Nathan Prescott has done moves that hasn't even crossed Warren's mind. Sure Warren is socially awkward, inexperienced, and geeky, but the things he saw Nathan do was so uncharacteristic. Prescott placed his hand against Courtney's cheek, she looked annoyed for a second, but her stare at him automatically changed to a calm look in her eyes with a smirk as if she had sudden mood swings. Warren was dumbfounded on what was going on and why Nathan was doing such a thing, but he knew if he interrupted, he'd just piss Nathan off even more. The girls would have loved to have seen that, Warren knew, but in the bottom of his heart, he knew he wouldn't nor couldn't.

Nathan whispered in her ear with a chuckle. He placed her hair behind her ear. He caressed her cheek, slowly sliding his hand down her neck gently. Soon beginning to rub her arm softly, looking at her with an expression shes never seen before. His navy eyes suddenly softened as a gentle smile came across his face. It appalled Courtney that she didn't know how to respond to his actions. Her confusion led her to following along with his every move.

He smoothly glided his other hand down the side of her waist leading it across her lower back as the one caressing her arm slowly glided back up to her cheek so he could grab the back of her neck gently, tilting it back slowly. Courtney's eyes closed slowly, her face beginning to glow with slight redness. Her face looked as though she was slowly becoming excited. Nathan suddenly placed his lips softly on her cheek, making his lips trail down alongside her jawline, leading down to the nape of her neck, beginning to leave little hickeys on her neck. His actions were completely different than his usual ones.

"What the hell...?" Warren was in utter shock with what he was just witnessing, "How the hell...? When the hell...? What the hell is going on...?" He questioned lowly, trying not to grab peoples attention as he continued to watch.

Nathan slid his hand down from the nape of her neck, against her side, passing her hips, leading to her wrist. He gently grabbed hold of her wrist and lifted her hand up to his lips. A smirk came across his face as his lips landed on the palm of her hand, heading towards her wrist, lightly biting it as he glanced over at Courtney with a mystifying look. Her face looked as though she was holding in a moan. He chuckled as he pulled her closer to him as he kissed his way up, passing her arm, passing her shoulder, passing her neck, passing her jawline, and separating his lips from her bare skin, resting his forehead against hers, locking his beryl colored eyes with hers. They both looked excited and Courtney looked like she was about to beg for more.

Warren was in utter shock on what was going on. He saw Courtney bite her bottom lip, nodding with her face fully red from the look of embarrassment as she looked like she was pleading for more. He saw Nathan whisper in her ear, smirking before biting her earlobe, making her shiver with the look of excitement. The adolescent saw Nathan walk away with Courtney, holding hands, heading to the front. He followed behind them from a distant and saw them enter Nathan's crimson colored truck.

Warren was completely confused on what just happened. He wanted to follow them and see what they were about to do. He had assumptions of it being sex of course, but his gut feeling was telling him something else. Warren was about to call Chloe and Max to pick him up, but he stopped, soon recalling that he doesn't really want to be a part of the plan they made earlier. His curiosity grew more and more as he saw the truck slowly vanish into the distance. Warren sighed deeply, irritated, ruffling his hair back to his usual style as he walked home with unanswered questions. He was soon thinking to himself that he'll try and fix things up with Nathan before building up the courage to question Nathan on the sudden actions that just happened that very night at his very own party...


	10. Blinded Resentment

"What are we doing here?" Courtney questioned, looking out the windshield.

"You'll see." Nathan responded, "You go on ahead. I'll meet you out there, I just have to call a friend to bring us the drugs we were talking about earlier at the party." Nathan chuckled, pulling out his phone, dialing.

Courtney was uncertain of walking alone outside in the dark since they ended up at the dumpster, but the thought of the so-called 'after-party' made her gullible enough to walk outside without Nathan. Also, she suddenly recalled a little area her and the Vortex Club used to party at during Sophomore year once night fell. She didn't miss the smell nor sight, but she did miss the times when everyone was so carefree, smiling, and dancing. They were good times for her and she assumed to many others, too.

She gave in and stepped foot outside. Once Courtney stepped out, she felt sudden chills. The teen assumed it was by the nightly breeze, but then there came a distinct odd vibe in the area, too. She had a gut feeling to be cautious so the teen walked out a little further, heading towards the front to be in the light. Though as she did, her mouth got covered by a cloth leading her to pass out.

"Nice work, son. I see you're getting better at this now." Mr. Prescott spoke after setting the girl down on the ground.

"Whatthefuckever..." He muttered so only he could hear, "Just go continue your business elsewhere, I have a party to go back to." Nathan sighed deeply.

"Tsk... still don't have interest in joining your old man, huh? What a disappointment." Mr. Prescott sighed, "Just like your sister... I guess I'll have to have a certain someone assist me on showing you the good side of what this family does and how we gain our way to the top." Mr. Prescott chuckled.

Nathan looked over at his dad with an empty stare. A million thoughts crossed his mind on what's wrong and what's right of what's going on at this very moment. He knew in the back of his mind that what they were really doing was nothing, but immoral, but he buried it deep inside himself so his mind nor emotions would get the best of him. The thought of the torture they give to the women in Arcadia Bay sickened him to the point of where he felt despicable towards his father, his teacher, and even himself.

"Go on, enjoy the rest of your party, we'll continue from here and call you when we're done." His dad shooed him off awaiting for Nathan to leave.

He was about to drive away, but was stopped by another man's approach, "Nice work, Nate." A man walked passed Nathan's window, patted the door of his truck then helped Sean pick up Courtney to take her to his car, "How about you stay and watch so you can learn a thing or two? After all, you learned a thing or two from me last week, remember?" He smirked.

"Dear fucking Christ, Jefferson..." Nathan mumbled, trying not to show weakness nor disgust to someone who could easily take disadvantage of him if ever crossed.

The adolescent tried to hold in what he was about to regurgitate. He covered his mouth with his hand, resting his arm on his window that was rolled down while looking away. Nathan wanted to look away, but his curiosity and guilt kept making him peek over. The teen ended up having to forcefully close his eyes while covering them with his hand so he didn't have to witness what was happening. He wanted to leave, but he knew if he did, he'd end up in the same position as Courtney again. So all he was allowed to do was witness so he could grasp the situation if this was forcefully handed to him. He put effort into blocking it out visually, but he knew he couldn't block it out by hear.

The groans. The slaps. The sounds. Every action that he's seen and heard before were just continuously entering his mind and ears. He was able to not see the actions going on in front of him, but the times before this were burned inside his mind to where he's unwillingly visualizing what's going on in front of him. He heard the final groan that he has heard several times before to where right after that, he knew that was his time to leave. The teen looked down at his legs that were trembling not by health conditions, but by habit from the cause of illness from this scene.

Nathan gripped his steering wheel, not looking in the direction Mr. Jefferson and his dad were at as he left the scene. He didn't know where he was going, all he knew was that he wanted to escape. He wanted to leave everything behind. He couldn't take much more of what was going on in his life, but he couldn't... he just couldn't leave even if he wanted to. If he did, he'd be a dead man and he knew that from the very beginning. From the day he turned five to this very day was the time his dad has been aggressively abusive- verbally, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Nathan couldn't stand much more of it to the point of wanting to end this all, but he just didn't know how. Suicide kept crossing his mind, but he never has the determination to go that far, especially with Victoria around, he sure as hell does not want to leave her alone in this kind of world. And as for running away with her beside him, it would end up leading them both to a painful death sentence.

The teen ended up at the lighthouse having no idea on how he got there when he was spacing out while driving. He was both shocked and disappointed that he didn't crash while his mind was completely lost. Nathan turned off the ignition from his truck as a deep sigh escaped his lips. He rested his head against the head rest and looked out the windshield meaninglessly. The teens mind was beginning to draw a complete blank just to be at peace with himself. Once the view of the night sky caught his eye, especially the full moon, he came back to his senses. He shook his head with a piercing pain plunging right through his chest as he started to bawl. He released all the pent up feelings that grew more and more inside of him as he punched his steering wheel countless times.

This pain is not exactly anything new to him, but he just doesn't have the will to get used to it. He acts tough and arrogant at school just so he doesn't have to deal with people who doesn't understand him. He acts obedient and demeaning at home so he doesn't get abused in his household per usual. And he acts like himself, or so he tries, when he's alone. He doesn't know what's right or wrong. What's real or fake. And he sure doesn't know what's him or what's not. He relies on feel than anything else. His mind is his enemy while his instinct is his ally, but his ally is both weak and strong which just leaves Nathan unsteady to do anything.

"I need a smoke..." Nathan groaned with irritation as he opened up his compartment to grab his strongest weed to calm down his nerves.

"Is weed really going to help?" Someone suddenly spoke by his window, peering at him.

"For fuck's sake! When the hell did you get here?!" Nathan shouted, close to having a heart attack, "Why and how the fuck did you get here anyway, Gayram?!" The teen clenched his chest while catching his breath.

"Well, I've gotten to the point of wanting to try to get along with you, so I'm not gonna lie, oddly enough..." Warren began, scratching the back of his head, "I've been here for about hm... ten minutes? Just watching you stare out in space was odd, but I assume you were having a sermon going on in your head?"

"A what?" Nathan questioned, still annoyed by Warren's sudden presence.

"A sermon, meaning instructive speech with moral." Warren responded, "You do have morals, don't you...?" The teen cocked his head, curious.

Nathan glared at him before sighing and looking away, "What the fuck do you think?" He picked up his rolling paper, Godfather OG, and lighter.

"Well... not many would think you do since you have random outbursts and get angry and abusive real quickly, but... I'm not really like society." He began, "I used to go along with society, but after experiencing something that doesn't fit me, I feel you have your reasons."

"You're so fucking weird..." Nathan mumbled, rolling up his weed, licking the sides of the paper to wrap it all inside.

"I may be weird, but I am original and I will say... so are you." Warren looked down with a chuckle, "I may be wrong on my assumptions, but... I know one thing."

"I'm _far_ from original, I'll tell you that." He chuckled faintly, "And oh yeah? What exactly would that be?" Nathan asked, trying to ignore him, but kept on failing.

"You're broken." He looked up at Nathan with a faint smile, hoping and praying he wouldn't get punched in the throat.

"Well, stop making assumptions and get out of my damn sight. I just want peace and quiet and I don't want a gay ass motherfucking asshole like you saying random shit like that to me." Nathan growled, "People like you just keep wasting my fucking time." He lit his cigarette, took his first hit and held in the smoke, waiting for it to slowly hit him before puffing it out.

"Heh... always going straight to drugs and drinking, huh?" Warren asked.

"If you got a problem with this I suggest you leave before I make you leave." Nathan glanced over at Warren with annoyance, "I already have enough on my plate and I don't want to deal with assholes like you right now."

"I'm..." Warren paused for a bit because he couldn't believe himself to possibly apologize to his bully for the first time, let alone ever, but he didn't want to be at the same level, so he gave in, "I'm... I'm sorry..."

Nathan looked over with furrowed brows, speaking before taking another hit, "What the hell are you apologizing for?" He questioned, flicking off the ashes.

"I... I didn't mean to turn into a dick and bring up that name..." Warren looked down, then back up as he explained his apology, "I didn't know it was that big of an impact to you. So, I'm sorry I called you _Twitch_..."

"Oh yeah... that..." He huffed out the smoke with a sigh.

Nathan set his cigarette on the ashtray, then looked over at Warren with an empty expression. The name didn't effect him like earlier since the thing that was effecting him the most was the scene he saw, well more like heard, not that long ago. He was surprised that it didn't trigger him that much since it normally does, but the recollection of the name being called out to him didn't stop his anger from rising.

Warren felt anxious from the empty stare in Nathan's eyes, "Prescott...?" He found it strange that he saw him stare in silence, but once he noticed the navy color in Nathan's eyes, he knew he was in trouble.

Warren was grabbed by the hair and his head was yanked back as Nathan spoke with a scowl, "You _ever_ use that name again, your death will look like a freak accident, you fucking got that?" Nathan growled, "Now get out of my fucking sight so I can smoke with ease. I don't need a person like you to ruin this."

Warren sighed deeply as he rubbed his head, trying to lessen the pain. The threat didn't even scare him like usual. His heart didn't race and he didn't tremble out of fear like he usually does. It confused him on why it didn't phase him. But what didn't confuse him was that what phased him the most was the vibe he was getting from Nathan. Warren stood there for several minutes before walking, but instead of away, he ended up heading towards the passenger side of Nathan's truck.

"What the fuck are you doing, Gayram? Get out of my truck!" Nathan ended up becoming jumpy once Warren entered.

"No." Warren stood his ground once he entered, "You can call me whatever you want to call me. Do whatever you want to do to me. But none of it will make me move."

"Son of a..." Nathan groaned, doing his usual reactions and actions just to scare Warren off, but the timid teen didn't move a muscle.

Warren sat there in silence awaiting for the consequences, but nothing happened. It was just complete silence in that truck. Pretty awkward silence more like it. Warren didn't exactly know what to do since he didn't expect to be left unharmed. He peeked over at Nathan, seeing the teen bite the nail of his thumb looking irritatingly nervous which was completely out of character. Or at least that's what Warren thought.

"Are you... okay...?" Warren was about to reach out to him, but froze once Nathan spoke.

"If you fucking touch me, I will break you." Nathan glared with a hiss.

"I'll... I'll take that risk..." Warren grabbed hold of Nathan's shoulder gently, stressed out of the possible negative results.

Once Warren kept hold of Nathan for a good solid minute, nothing happened still. It was just an irritated Nathan not doing a single move. But just a second later, after Warren's sigh of relief, Nathan grabbed hold of the hand that was touching him and twisted it, leading Warren's arm to be tightly behind his back. Warren groaned out of pain as his hand started to tense up by the cause of the nerves in his arm tightening.

"See what I fucking told you?" Nathan gripped Warren's shoulder tightly while holding his arm in place, "Ever heard of _personal space_, Graham? Or does that not really cross your mind?"

"Geez, Prescott..." Warren groaned.

"Heh... I take it that's why you haven't gotten your favorite girl, huh?" Nathan chuckled under his breath, whispering into his ear, practically taunting him, stirring-up the issue to return the amount of anger right back, "Typical for a stalker like you. I bet I could get her faster than you can."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Warren clenched his hands, beginning to get agitated by the words escaping Nathan's lips.

"I find that sad, but it makes sense, doesn't it? _Peeping Tom_?" Nathan continued.

"You son of a... I shouldn't have sympathy for an asshole like you after all!" Warren struggled to escape the stiff grasp.

"You're finally getting the hint, huh? Then get the fuck away from me already!" Nathan pushed Warren, making him slam against the passenger door, "Get the fuck out of my truck and leave me alone!"

"Jesus... I take back what I said, you really have no empathy do you?" Warren rubbed his wrist, trying to ease the pain, "Just like your dad. Not a fucking shocker..."

"Heh... you have no fucking idea on who I am or what I'm like." Nathan murmured, picking up his cigarette, covering his mouth with his hand with his cigarette between his fingers, continuing to inhale the smoke.

"Just from what I saw, the apple sure didn't fall far from the tree..." Warren groaned, "Nothing unusual for a psycho like you."

"Shut your fucking mouth and leave me be!" Nathan grabbed Warren's hair and slammed his head against the window, tempted to place his cigarette on his neck, "For Christ's sake! Leave me! The fuck! _ALONE_! I don't... I don't need people like you around!"

"Fucking asshole..." Warren gave in and left the truck, irritated as all hell to the point of wanting to continue the plans.

The teen that began walking away looked like he was about to punch a tree while the other adolescent stayed in his truck, puffing out the smoke then placing his cigarette on the tray. The two young men were both left alone with irritation. Nathan placed his head on the steering wheel, shaking from pent up anger and hatred from every single person he has interacted with his whole life while Warren continued to walk away, trying to think of a way to ease his anger. Nathan rested his face on his arms, covering his eyes, trying to keep the tears from escaping while Warren ended up stopping in his tracks, noticing the benches that were up ahead.

The teens sat alone in silence, reflecting how this year will turn out for them. Warren regrets walking to the lighthouse and encountering Nathan and so does Nathan, but the thing that struck them more was frustration. Deep down inside, they may hate each other. They may not see eye to eye. And things may seem like hell to them right now, but there was something they both noticed that they both didn't want to admit to. They were both lost teenagers, just trying to find the light in the dark world they both live in...


	11. A Plead for Redemption

**WARNING**: Suicide

"I couldn't sleep a wink..." Warren sighed deeply, covering his face with his arm to shield his eyes from the sun entering through the cracks in his blinds, "This is going to be hell today... I just know it..."

Warren felt groggy from the lack of sleep he had last night. He kept tossing and turning as guilt and anger kept increasing throughout the night. The teen didn't know what was wrong with him. It was unusual to have such mixed feelings involving Nathan Prescott. Even though he knew fully well on the consequences and the attitude, he still went with the ideas the girls gave him. He regretted it, but didn't at the same time which made it difficult for him to think straight to the point of not wanting to attend school.

"Screw it..." He slowly got up out of bed, feeling ill from everything that happened yesterday, "Damn it..." Warren noticed there were countless messages once he picked up his phone.

_****Chloe: Hey, what happened? We haven't heard from you at all last night!****_****  
_****Rachel: Hey, Where'd you go?!****_****  
_****Rachel: Where'd you go last night? You missed out on a lot! Wait, did you go with Nathan somewhere? I didn't see you nor him the rest of the night last night! Hit me up ASAP when you read this!****_****  
_****Max: Hey, is everything okay? I didn't hear from you at all last night! Message me once you read this. I'm worried.****_****  
_****Max: You're coming to school today, right? I'm worrying over here!****_****

"Max? Worried? About me...?" Warren's eyebrows furrowed, finding the message odd a bit, but it made him a little more awake as happiness spread through him slowly, "Well, just another day... I guess." Warren picked up his supplies and clothes to head to the stalls to take a shower so it could wake him up more.

As Warren walked out of his room, still feeling dreary from last nights event, he looked over at Nathan's door, seeing nothing but the bleak bay paint and the slightly rusted doorknob. His eyes wandered over to his whiteboard stating, __THE PRESCOTT'S RULE THIS TOWN.__ A chuckle left Warren's lips as he knew for a fact that Nathan didn't really want to be part of the Prescott heritage. Even though it was just little proof from the look on Nathan's face, Warren sensed Nathan was not really proud to be a Prescott. He rubbed the back of his head, trying to erase the event that happened last night while heading to the Men's Restroom.

The adolescent reached the restroom and was about to enter until he heard someone talking, "Huh...?" He peeked through the crack, "Holy shit!" Warren mumbled as he placed his back against the wall out of nervousness.

Warren was startled for a moment once noticing who it was on the other side of the door. He made the door ajar so he could peek and eavesdrop on what's going on on the other side. Nathan looked like a nervous wreck. Warren watched him pace back and forth as he mumbled to himself. He saw that Nathan was the only one in the restroom so he didn't risk on walking in so he just stayed back to observe again per usual. As he continued to watch, he saw Nathan jumped, as did he, from a sudden noise that Warren assumed was coming from Nathan's phone.

"Son of a..." Nathan mumbled with anger, "Yeah, what's up?" He answered, trying to stay calm.

"Who could it be this time...?" Warren questioned quietly.

"What?! Are you fucking serious?!" Nathan's hands clenched, showing that the person on the other end was pissing him off, "For fuck's sake! Not them! We made a fucking deal remember?! Why them?! Why the fuck them?! Goddamn it!" Nathan slammed his free hand against the wall, clenching his hand on the wall, making nail marks with slight blood left behind.

Warren tensed up by the angry Nathan suddenly losing more control than he has ever seen, "Whoa..." He made himself ready to dash.

"Goddamn it all to hell!" Nathan threw his phone against the wall with full force, not caring that he broke it, clenching his hands tightly before grabbing hold of his head, turning around.

Warren's eyes widened by shock once he saw an expression way different than last nights breakdown. His eyebrows furrowed into sadness. The look of darkness in his navy eyes. The tears flowing down his face, flooding over his trembling lips. His whole body shaking out of both anger and sadness. And his growls suddenly turning into screaming as he slammed his hands onto the wall as if releasing every emotion he has bottled up inside him. Without even noticing, Nathan punched the wall countless times to the point of where his hands began to bleed.

"Holy shit..." Warren gasped, barely able to breathe as fear crept up in him, "What is going on...?" The teen was about to bail until he heard the slamming suddenly stop.

He continued, seeing Nathan lean against the wall then slump down against it, landing hard on the floor. Nathan rested his head on the wall as he just stared up at the ceiling while the tears were ongoing, gliding down his face. The look on his face made him look as though he died right there. His legs spread on the floor while his back was slouching against the wall, looking like he was in a painful position. Warren didn't know what to do. His mind told him to leave, but his instincts told him to do something. His body chose to agree with his mind, leaving the scene, but halted once hearing the most painful words he has ever heard from anyone.

"For Christ's sake... Why...? Why did this happen to me...? I might as well just fucking kill myself with this gun already..." He spoke, his voice crackling, "Heh... what's the use of living if reality just keeps biting me in the ass? What's the use of life if it just keeps killing me inside everyday? Why the fuck is this happening to me...?"

Warren gulped hard, peeking through the crack again, "Holy shit! No..." Warren prayed that Nathan was bluffing so he didn't have to enter, but once he saw Nathan place his hand in his vest, he saw him pull out the real thing.

"__Given to you for self-defense__ huh, Jefferson? Heh... what a fucking joke..." Nathan opened the barrel to check if the gun was fully loaded, a faint smile came across his face as if one of his wishes were finally granted, he pulled back the slide, placed his index finger on the trigger and rose the gun to his head, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry to every girl that fell victim into the misdeeds caused by the Prescott family... God I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Kris for not being open... I'm sorry Vic for pushing you away and leading you into my consequences... I'm sorry Sam... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Warren... For doing jacked up shit to you all these years... I'm sorry everyone... I'm sorry..." His hand began to shake, beginning to show that every part of him was becoming weak as he tried to reconcile every misdeed he committed throughout the years.

"Dear God no..." Warren trembled.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Nathan closed his eyes tightly.

"Don't do this!" Warren ran in to stop Nathan from shooting himself.

Within less than a second later there came a loud bang echoing through the bathroom, leading out through the halls as it signaled the trigger was pulled...


	12. Memories

Nathan walked towards the dorm building, unsteady by how drunk he got during the party and after it. The party lasted hours that it was around two o'clock in the morning before people headed back to their dorms, intoxicated as all hell. Though before Nathan was able to head back to his room, he had to sober up to pick an unconscious Courtney up and drop her off in front of her dorm. Just one of his usual routines while throwing a Vortex Club party. Once he dropped her off, he headed back towards his dorm with a bottle of alcohol in one hand, hammering it down as though he hasn't drank for days. He felt sick to his stomach and it wasn't just caused by the alcohol.

"Bottoms up..." He chuckled faintly, holding up the bottle as though making a cheer to himself before finishing the rest of his drink.

When he chugged down the rest of the bottle of tequila, it went straight to his head that he could barely see straight. He hoped it would erase the whole night away from the things he had to do, but it just kept flashing through his mind to the point of where anger mixed with sadness that he ended up throwing the glass bottle against the wall outside of the building with rage. Before entering the building he sat on the steps, burying his face in his arms, gripping onto his pants, continuously wiping away the tears that just kept pouring out.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." He just continued apologizing over and over to where it felt as though it was the only thing that could help numb his pain besides the drugs and alcohol.

Guilt, anger, fear, disgrace, every single emotion he viewed negative made him feel as though he was just sinking further and further down in water, drowning from his own emotions. The only main things that seemed to have been able to numb his pain were narcotics and methanol. He didn't care about the consequences of overdosing or alcohol poisoning. He would rather die that way than a death sentence by Jefferson or even his own dad if he ever crossed them. His whole body shuddered by the flashbacks of when it all started...

** _Three Years Ago..._ **

"Thanks Samantha... The book you gave me helped me feel a bit better." Nathan looked down at the book then up at Samantha with a childish grin slowly turning into a weak one as he grasped onto the book.

"No worries." Samantha smiled, "Is... Is everything okay Nathan?" She put her hand on his arm gently.

He flinched for a moment then responded, "Y-Yeah... everything's fine." He placed a fake grin across his face.

"If you ever need help with something, I'm always here." Samantha spoke with a calming tone.

"Yeah... thanks." Nathan nodded, chuckling lightly.

"Nathan!" A man yelled out his name from afar.

"Oh... appears my dad's here." Nathan groaned with uneasiness, "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah..." Samantha smiled faintly, waving.

As she watched Nathan walk towards his dad, she felt apprehensive slowly sneak up. Samantha couldn't understand those uneasy senses that just continued to increase whenever she saw Mr. Prescott. The severity in his azure eyes if not shielded by his glasses. The disparity in his appearance compared to those around him, making it look as though he belittles everyone in this town. His positive figure giving off a negative vibe whenever near. Everything about him made her feel as though everything was out of character when left alone with Mr. Prescott. He doesn't have to say a single word to make others feel uncomfortable, all it takes is his presence, which is what Samantha has felt ever since the day he introduced himself to her family.

"Hey, son?" Mr. Prescott spoke once Nathan was near.

"Yeah...?" Nathan responded lowly, nervous of what was about to come out of his fathers mouth.

"I have something I feel you're ready to see." He got inside the car, signalling Nathan to get in.

Nathan was nervous on what was going on. The aura he sensed from his dad seemed more excessive than usual. The adolescent didn't know what was coming his way, but he did not look forward to what his dad was about to show him. Nathan stared out the window, trying to distract himself from his usual overwhelming concerns. He admired the light breeze when he opened the window, the calming sounds of the leaves flowing with the wind, and the sound of the ocean they passed. Everything was peaceful until his dad spoke about something Nathan felt was off.

"Your friend, I believe her name is_ Samantha_, correct? How well do you know her? Does she happen to find fondness of you?" Mr. Prescott questioned, focusing on the road.

"Well, she's... she's not technically my friend." Nathan spoke, unsure of his response.

"Is she your girlfriend then?" That question made Nathan flinch, that he looked over at his dad, noticing too late that his face turned red, "Is that a yes?"

"N-No! Of course not! She's just a... a classmate... she's in a couple of my classes... that's all..." Nathan looked away, hiding his flustered face.

"Hm... Well, I only ask because she will be your very first." An uneasy chuckle left his dad's lips which made Nathan shiver by the tone.

"What are you talking about...?" The adolescent shuddered.

Without a response, his dad turned off the engine and signalled Nathan to follow him outside. The adolescent felt uneasy by the aura he felt from his father as he exited the vehicle, following his dad from behind. As he looked at his surroundings, he muttered to himself countless questions as the feeling of anguish kept him on the edge once noticing they were far out of town at their family's abandoned farm. He was about to question his dad on why they arrived at a shabby place like this, but he froze once seeing Mr. Jefferson.

"M-Mr. Jefferson...?" Nathan stuttered by nervousness, "D-Dad...? W-Why is Mr. Jefferson here?"

"Well, if it isn't my favorite student." Mr. Jefferson chuckled with a bright smile, "I'm glad you're finally joining us."

"J-Joining? Joining what?" He looked at his dad then Jefferson, having chills continuously go up his spine as he examined the two skeptical men in front of him, "What's going on, dad?"

"You know our family motto, don't you son?" Mr. Prescott questioned, expecting the correct answer.

"O-Of course... _No one surpasses the Prescott name_..." He responded tensely.

"Correct." Mr. Prescott smiles, "And what do the Prescott's do to keep people in their place?"

Nathan tensed up by that question. His mind overloading with negative responses after looking at his dad for several seconds. The teen didn't know how to answer which made him begin to hypervenalate while his heart started to race intensely by the fear creeping up on him. He clenched his hands tightly by concern, hoping his inaccuracy wouldn't lead himself to a backlash nor a backhand to the face. He began to pray in his head as he slowly opened his mouth, preparing to answer.

"B-Blackmail...?" He stuttered, closing his eyes, preparing himself for the worst, as he answered with hopeful assumptions.

"I knew you were ready, son." Mr. Prescott smiled with a chuckle as he patted Nathan's back, "Well, seeing as to how you seem ready, let's bring on your very first person."

"What did you just say...?" A look of severe concern changed his expression drastically.

His question was not answered by words, but by action. His dad and Mr. Jefferson walked him into a bunker only the Prescott's knew. Nathan's heart was racing rapidly as his anxiety rose by apprehension. He didn't know what was going on nor what they were talking about, until he saw what they were talking about.

"Sam!" He stiffened with a gasp, instantly running up to her, "Sam?! S-Sam, w-wake up! Come on, Sam! Please..." Nathan slapped her gently, shook her, tried any which way he could to wake her up.

"Hm?" Samantha slowly opened her eyes, "_Ooooh, heeeeey Nate!_" She giggled while looking up at him before closing her eyes again.

Her wrists and ankles were tied tightly, her eyes were swollen red, she only had her bra and undies on. Everything that was in front of Nathan terrified him. He couldn't believe what was happening. He wished, prayed, and hoped it was just a terrible nightmare, but he didn't wake. The teen knew then and there this nightmare was nothing, but reality right in front of him.

"Sam...? Wh-What the hell is going on, dad?!" He held the girl in his trembling hands, looking over at his dad.

"Shes been drugged, Nathan." Mr. Jefferson answered, adjusting his glasses.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Nathan bolted straight up, walking towards his dad furiously, "Why is she drugged and tied, dad?!"

His dad laughed faintly, adjusting his glasses, "There are several different ways of blackmailing, son." He began, "And the easiest way, besides leading several people in this little town into debt, is shaming others, leading them to their downfall which will lead them right into the palm of our hands."

"W-Why this way?! Why?! Is this some kind of sick joke to you guys?! What is there to gain from this?!" Nathan's voice became louder as his anger rose to the very top.

"Well, we've gained an ally that has passion towards this kind of photography and is a professional to cover ups." His dad responded with a look of amusement, "Money only goes so far, son. We have to use every which way we can to gain more from others. You know that, Nathan. Don't you?" Mr. Prescott gripped his chin, raising his head to look at him with his wicked stare.

"You know what to do, don't you, Nathan?" Mr. Jefferson gripped his shoulders from behind as he whispered in Nathan's ear.

Nathan was frozen stiff as he was gripped tightly by his dad and teacher. He didn't want to answer, but he knew if he didn't, he'd get more than abuse from his dad. Nathan closed his eyes tightly, trying to calm his heart that was rapidly beating out of control. He knew all he could do was nod his head in order to be released from their tight grasp. Once he nodded, his dad released him and his teacher loosened his grip making Nathan end up on the floor.

"Well, shall we begin, son?" He smiled, patting his head gently.

"Y-Yeah..." Nathan looked down, wanting to puke, but he knew he couldn't show weakness so he tried his very best to hold it all in.

"Here." Mr. Jefferson grinned as he handed the adolescent a camera, "Let's begin, my little pupil."

Nathan nodded, forcefully gulping down hard, trying to keep everything down. He put as much effort as he could to put focus on the shoot. The teen closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath so he doesn't mess up the shot. Nathan recalled Mr. Jeffersons recent statement, _always take the shot_. He sighed deeply, nodding his head once more before taking the very first shot.

"_Always take the shot_..." Nathan mumbled, pressing the button, making the light flash during his very first shot...

** _Present Time..._ **

"I can't... No... I can't do this anymore!" Nathan muffled in his sleeves, "I can't take it anymore! I'm done... I'm done!"

He rushed up and headed towards the bathroom to wash his face, trying to get rid of the disgust he felt. The teen gripped the sink, barely able to breathe as he stared at himself in the mirror. As Nathan looked, he couldn't recognize himself anymore. Nathan couldn't take much more of the guilt and pain that continuously built up after each and every victim that fell into the Prescott's hands. The teen looked at his shaking hands, soon pacing back and forth, thinking of a way to stop this all. As time passed he received a call from a person he hates most in this world.

"Son of a..." Nathan mumbled with anger, "Yeah, what's up?" He answered, trying to stay calm.

"**_I see an old friend of yours has returned, son?_**" His dad sounded content from the matter, "**_I'd like you to get close to her again so we can have her back in our grasp. Well, after Victoria, of course._**"

"What?! Are you fucking serious?!" Nathan's hands clenched, showing that his dad on the other end was pissing him off, "For fuck's sake! Not them! We made a fucking deal remember?! Why them?! Why the fuck them?! Goddamn it!" Nathan slammed his free hand against the wall, clenching his hand on the wall, making nail marks with slight blood left behind.

"**_Don't forget how deep you're in now, son. You wouldn't want to cross those who are your allies, now would you? Because if you do, you know you will not be the only one in danger._**" His tone became stern, "**_Now follow orders and don't disappoint like that first time. I expect great things, son. I'll be waiting in the bunker._**" His dad hung up, not letting Nathan say anything else to him per usual.

"Goddamn it all to hell!" Nathan threw his phone against the wall with full force, not caring that he broke it, clenching his hands tightly before grabbing hold of his head, turning around, bawling soon punching the wall with full force.

Nathan resigned and leaned against the wall then slumped down against it, landing hard on the floor. Nathan rested his head on the wall as he just stared up at the ceiling while the tears were ongoing, gliding down his face. The look on his face made him look as though he died right there. His legs spread on the floor while his back was slouching against the wall, looking like he was in a painful position.

"For Christ's sake... Why...? Why did this happen to me...? I might as well just fucking kill myself with this gun already..." He spoke, his voice crackling, "Heh... what's the use of living if reality just keeps biting me in the ass? What's the use of life if it just keeps killing me inside everyday? Why the fuck is this happening to me...?"

Nathan placed his hand in his vest, sighing deeply as he looked at the object he pulled out. He chuckled faintly once holding something he never expected to use on himself when it was meant for other uses. He has always wanted to commit suicide, but he always preferred overdosing or alcohol poisoning. The teen examined the object, viewing it as nothing, but a joke anymore. His fear towards this gun ended up becoming his only blessing. Or so he tried to view it that way.

"_Given to you for self-defense_ huh, Jefferson? Heh... what a fucking joke..." Nathan opened the barrel to check if the gun was fully loaded, a faint smile came across his face as if one of his wishes were finally granted, he pulled back the slide, placed his index finger on the trigger and rose the gun to his head, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry to every girl that fell victim into the misdeeds caused by the Prescott family... God I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Kris for not being open... I'm sorry Vic for pushing you away and leading you into my consequences... I'm sorry Sam... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Warren... For doing jacked up shit to you all these years... I'm sorry everyone... I'm sorry..."

His hand began to shake, beginning to show that every part of him was becoming weak as he tried to reconcile every misdeed he committed throughout the years.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Nathan closed his eyes tightly.

"Don't do this!" Those were the last few words he ever expected to hear from someone else other than Victoria.

Within less than a second later after hearing those words there came a loud bang echoing through the bathroom, leading out through the halls as it signaled the trigger was pulled...


	13. Trying to Understand

Chapter Text

"Oh, thank God..." Warren breathed heavily, gripping onto Nathan's hand with both of his hands high in the air as tightly as he could, "That was so fucking close... Shit..." He looked up at the ceiling noticing a bullet hole.

"Huh...?" Nathan opened his eyes slowly, noticing Warren stopped him, "For fuck's sake! What the fuck are you doing here?! Let go of me! Why the fuck can't you ever leave me alone?!" Nathan rushed up, pushing Warren against the wall, irritated as all hell.

"What was that noise?" People began to question on the other side of the bathroom door.

"Shit!" Nathan placed his gun back in his vest and panicked, thinking of what to do to avoid conflict from others soon barging in.

"Hurry! Follow me!" Warren grabbed hold of Nathan's wrist and pulled him at the end of the bathroom stalls, hiding behind a trashcan, "Keep quiet."

"Fuck you! Stop controlling how I fucking live or die!" Nathan hissed.

"Can you just shut up for once, Prescott?!" Warren was irritated to the point of placing his hand over Nathan's mouth as he focused on the big commotion that entered the bathroom.

Almost every guy in the dorm building entered, wondering where that loud bang was coming from. Some said it sounded like a gunshot while others said they must have just heard things. Warren saw less and less people as the room was clearing out one by one. He was glad no one looked up and noticed the bullet hole. Once the coast was clear Warren sighed deeply with relief.

"Okay, I think-?!" Warren tensed up once feeling something slimy on his hand, "Ugh! Gross! What the fuck, Prescott?!"

"I see you still don't understand about _personal space_ huh, Gayram?!" Nathan rushed up while whacking the back of Warren's head, "What you fucking get for silencing a Prescott. Be glad I didn't bite your hand."

"Be glad I covered your mouth with my left hand and not my right." Warren chuckled as he wiped the saliva off his hand on his pants as he rubbed the back of his head with his other hand.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Nathan turned, glaring down at Warren with a look of disgust.

"I think you heard me well enough." Warren smirked, slowly getting up, brushing the dust off his pants.

"What a fucking dick..." Nathan groaned with irritation, "Fucking sicko... How the hell can you joke around right after stopping something like _this_?" He questioned, pulling out his gun, holding it against his head again.

"Wh-Whoa, hold it right there, dude..." Warren held his arms out, tensing back up once realizing Nathan still had his firearm, "It's... it's the only way I can make life more... more reasonable to myself and sometimes hopefully to others."

"You think life is a joke? You think everything's just fun and games? You don't know jack shit of what's really out there do you, Gayram?" Nathan then pointed it towards Warren.

"W-whoa, w-wait, wait, wait, wait, Prescott..." Warren held his breath once seeing the gun pinned at him, "E-Easy there, bud. N-No need to get hostile, dude... Just... just breathe... Everything will be okay..."

"I'm not your_ bud_, asshole! Don't act all chummy! You don't know shit about what's really going on out there!" Nathan shouted, "Don't think I don't have the will to shoot you with this!" Nathan walked up towards Warren, losing control of himself.

"Y-Yeah, I know I don't know, Prescott..." Warren stuttered, "But it doesn't mean I don't have the will to learn more of what's out there." He walked up towards Nathan slowly.

"Heh... what fucking bullshit!" Nathan ended up shouting, completely forgetting the possibility of other students walking in, "You think you have the chance to know more about what's going on out in reality? You think you'd survive in this shithole of a town?! You don't know fucking shit, Graham... you don't fucking know..." His hand suddenly began to shake as his emotions began to go haywire.

"Okay... I know that, Prescott..." Warren tried to speak calmly to ease the tension between them, "I know the truth of reality, Prescott... I know life out there can be chaotic, but the only way to survive that is to view it in a different light."

"What the hell are you getting at here, Graham? Are you trying to suddenly be optimistic? Are you trying to make up for the shit you brought upon yourself last night?" Nathan glared, trying to keep a tight hold of the reins from his emotions.

"Okay... okay... I know what happened was messed up. I could see it in your eyes that the event that happened last night was hectic for you. I can understand that." Warren held his hands up, slowly walking up to Nathan, "I know the countless apologies I give you will never make up for the things I did or said towards you the past week. I know... I know I can't help you with the life events you're going through right now. But please... _please_ let me help you with as much will power as I have right now."

Nathan exposed the same amount of emotions as he did last night. Within a matter of seconds, he broke down. He ended up dropping the gun out of his shakey hand as he fell to the floor, landing on his knees, covering his face, bawling. Warren relaxed all of his muscles and kicked the gun aside, kneeling down, facing Nathan. When he saw the broken teen in front of him that usually shows a deathly stare towards others, he was shocked by the sudden change of emotions that continuously changed one minute after another, after another.

"I... I'm sorry... I'm so fucking sorry..." Nathan continued to say it, still feeling like an apology isn't enough for the things hes done the past few years.

"I-It's okay, Nathan. You didn't do anything wrong..." Warren tried to reach out towards the stressed out teen, but stopped, remembering _p__ersonal space_ for once, "Everything will be okay, Nathan... I just know it... ok-?!"

Warren tensed up after falling backwards by the cause of Nathan. His face suddenly turned red as his heart pounded. The adolescent didn't know what to do. Warren knew he shouldn't put his hands on Nathan, but how else could he get Nathan off him? Warren slowly got Nathan off of him, noticing a passed out teen.

"Goodness..." Warren chuckled faintly, "What a chaotic kid..."

Warren stared at the sleeping teen, suddenly seeing a different side of him. His faint grin not disappearing as he observed Nathan. He noticed a few tears sliding down Nathan's cheek that he impulsively wiped them away gently. Warren wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his head on his knees as he continued to admire the exhausted adolescent.

"I don't know what to do anymore..." Warren sighed deeply, resting his chin on his knees, staring out in space, "He's a fucking dick, but... from what I see here... it appears he was led this way."

The adolescent shook his head lightly with a chuckle before looking back at Nathan. His mind boggled with what to do with him. From the anger that kept growing inside him everytime Nathan bullied him, and from the sympathy thats been increasing lately. He didn't know what to do. He was torn between continuing this mission with the girls, and finding out more about this troubled teen.

"Heh... from the looks of it... he needs help..." Warren smiled faintly as he stood up, "I hope this is worth it... I hope things will work out..."

Warren walked towards the door, peeking out through the crack then out further, looking through both sides of the hall and saw there was no student in sight. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he headed back to the bathroom to help Nathan out. He struggled to get him up off the floor, but put all his strength to pick him up and wrap Nathan's arm around his shoulders.

"Damn... for a person your size and height I never expected you to be hard to carry..." Warren laughed lightly as he began to walk, well, more like stumble, towards Nathan's room.

He struggled to stay balanced, but he never gave up. The teen kept praying everyone was gone because he knew if people were still around, several of them would question or start rumors per usual. Warren hurried to Nathan's room, reached the doorknob and ended up finding out his door was locked. The adolescent groaned with irritation, debating on searching for his key or just take his predator into his own safe haven. As he thought thoroughly through the possibilities, he took another chance. Warren knew his moves the past week has been pretty stupid, but luck continuously, just barely, helped him through everything so far.

"Alright... let's hope nothing terrible happens..." He sighed deeply, knowing the truth in the back of his mind.


	14. Time for a Change

"**_How could you let your dad do such a thing?!_**"****One shouted, "**_You're such a coward! How could you do this to us?!"_**

"N-No... I-I didn't mean to! I... I..." Nathan fumbled with his words, looking down as he clenched his aching chest.

"_Oh, boohoo._ _I didn't mean to! I didn't-_ **_bullshit! What kind of man would do such things to innocent girls?_**" Another spoke, "**_You're just like you're dad!_**"

"N-No! N-No I'm not!" Nathan covered his ears, trying to ignore the adversed outbursts, "I'm nothing like my no good fucking dad!"

"**_S__top denying and make up for the things you've done!_**" Another joined in, "**_S_****_top bullshitting and own up to your misdeeds!_**"

"S-Stop! Please! I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!" Nathan started tearing up by the continuous screaming, "Please... please leave me alone! I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"**_Heh... you could've done something, Prescott..._**" Another began, "**_But you were such a coward to where you didn't have the balls to stand up. What a fucking caitiff... You're such a disappointment..._**"

"Please... please stop this... I can't take it anymore... I just can't..." Nathan face planted on the floor, feeling as though he was slowly disintegrating into the air, "Please God... I don't care if you take me or leave me, just please... get rid of this pain..." His hands clenched tightly into fists as he placed one on the ground and the other on his chest, slowly trying to get off the bone-chilling floor.

As he struggled to get off the floor, the words continued to the point of where he felt he was getting kicked in the stomach countless times. Over and over, he felt physically pained by the words that just kept coming that he continuously landed on the floor. With every blow that was striking him left and right, he was on the verge to ending everything again. He reached into his vest, hoping the gun was there, and just as his wish was granted again, he pulled out his firearm. The physical pain mixing in with his emotional pain made him feel as though he was choking from the things around him.

"Heh... Lord... please end this pain..." Nathan closed his eyes tightly as he gripped onto the handle of his gun, "Please end this misery..."

He's not a religious person, let alone did he ever believe there was a God, but at this point, he felt he couldn't rely on anyone. The darkness sustaining him from ever seeing the light again, made him feel as though he was drowning in fear and guilt. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. He just couldn't stand much more of this. Everything seemed so hopeless to him that he was willing to take such an extreme way to leave behind everything whether the consequences happened or not.

"Christ..." He huffed out that word as he slowly sat up, "Please forgive me... please stop this agony..." Nathan rose his hand, placing the gun right against his head.

"**_Y__es, end everything here._**" Another voice spoke, "**_Just kill yourself already so everyone will finally be at peace with your presence no longer around!_**"

Nathan closed his eyes tightly as a river of tears streamed down his face, "I'm sorry..."

"**Ooh****_,_ **_I'__m sorry. I'm sorry._ **_For Christ's sake! Kill yourself already!_**" A voice continued.

"Please... forgive... me..." He placed his index finger on the trigger and began to slowly pull it, but stopped once hearing words hes never heard before.

"_**I**_**_ forgive you..._**" One spoke in a gentle tone.

"Huh...?" Nathan opened his eyes slowly, seeing a hand in front of him, slowly following it up to see the owner of it.

"**_Everything__ will be okay, Nathan._**" A smile came across a persons face, "**_I forgive you... and so will everyone else._**"

"Who are you...?" Nathan questioned.

Nathan couldn't see clearly on who it was, his eyes still blurred from his tears. He saw a faint figure in front of him, most of it being shielded by a white light. All he could make out was a smile glowing positively and a hand out towards his direction. He was hesitant on accepting the persons hand, but gave in minutes after. Once his hand linked with the other, it felt as if everything that weighed him down throughout the years, lifted off his shoulders and the gun that he thought was his only ally that could help him escape anything just... disappeared into thin air.

"**_I'm__ nothing, but a normal human-being, just trying my best to help you any way I can..._**" The voice slowly faded with a faint chuckle, "**_Give trust to those who are willing to help. You would be amazed of how much a person can change you._**"

"Wait! Tell me who you are!" Nathan ran towards the voice, running towards the light, "Who are you?!"

Nathan sat up quickly as his eyes opened widely from what happened to be a dream. He groaned as he gripped his head from the migraine he assumes he received from the amount of heavy alcohol he drank last night. His other hand happened to grip the sheets he was lying on. The teen covered his eyes as he saw the light from the sun sneak its way through the cracks from the blinds. The adolescent was about to get up to cover them with his blanket, but once he picked up the blanket from what he assumed was his he realized he wasn't in his room.

"Huh...? Where the hell am I...?" Nathan examined his surroundings, "Wait... no... you got to be fucking kidding me..."

There was a lot of science posters, books, materials, every single thing he knew belonged to one student he wished he didn't encounter, let alone be around. As he looked at himself, suddenly feeling chills from a draft, he noticed all he had on were his briefs. Once he realized two things, his hands shook, he shivered with fear and anger of what his mind linked together. He didn't want to look beside him, but with his curiousness of accuracy, he looked...

"Why the hell am I in here?! What the fuck happened?!" He automatically shouted once seeing the last person he ever wanted to see, "How the hell did I end up here?!" He jumped out of the bed.

"Ugh... five more minutes..." Warren mumbled, covering himself with the blanket, turning over, his back facing Nathan.

"No! You get up right now and explain what the fuck happened!" Nathan pulled the blanket off the bed and dragged Warren down with it.

"Hm...? Oh yeah... you're still here, huh...?" Warren rubbed his sleepy eyes, "Wait! Why the hell are you still here?!"

"I'd like to know why I'm here in the first place, Gayram!" Nathan exclaimed, "You best not have done anything to me!"

"Ugh... what the hell makes you think I would do something like _that_ to a person like _you_?" Warren groaned out of annoyance, covering his face.

"Start talking!" Nathan gripped the collar of his shirt, slamming him against the wall.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?! Was that fucking necessary?!" Warren rubbed the back of his head, coughing from the wind being knocked out of him from the slam, "Jesus... let me explain..."

Warren was silent for a few minutes, figuring out how to bring up how it all started. The teen didn't know if he should bring up the incident of Nathan's attempt of suicide, but that was the main thing that caused it all, plus the alcohol he assumed Nathan chugged down. He looked up at the angered teen, trying to stay calm to explain what happened and why they ended up this way.

"Well... to basically sum all this up briefly, I saved you from the biggest mistake of your life." Warren responded.

"That's not good enough!" Nathan gripped his hands tightly out of anger.

Warren fell silent, trying his best to think of a way to avoid the main topic, "You were drunk. I saw you pass out in the bathroom. I helped you to your room which happened to have been locked, I didn't want to search through your pockets so I ended up carrying you to my room and lied you on the couch over there. I left to attend school and when I returned I saw you in your briefs lying on my bed." He peered into Nathan's eyes, trying to calm his racing heart from the cause of nervousness, "I tried to get you off my bed, but you wouldn't budge and I sure as hell was not going to sleep on my couch. It fucking hurts..."

"Why didn't you just get my keys when my pants were off?" Nathan pointed out.

"I didn't want to search your pants because I had a feeling you'd be pissed and I sure as hell did not want to touch you while all you had on were your briefs." Warren explained.

Nathan glared at Warren, having trouble believing his story, but didn't want to deal with anymore of this awkward situation. He groaned, gripping his head again. Warren noticed Nathan in pain, showing signs of an obvious hangover. The timid teen grabbed a cold water bottle and tossed it to Nathan. The adolescent caught it and gave a perplexed look towards the timid one.

"Drink that and eat this." Warren handed him a greasy burrito.

"How would these help?" Nathan questioned.

"Wow, I take it you've never taken care of a hangover?" The teen chuckled faintly.

"I've slept through them." The adolescent responded with irritation.

"Ah, that explains it." Warren shook his head with a small laugh, "Well, here are pills for your headache, another bottle of water, and drink as much as you can once you leave." He spoke while getting dressed to head out.

"You don't need to help me." Nathan growled, "Why are you helping me?"

"I know I don't have to help you, Prescott." Warren chuckled, "I just... want to. It's in my nature."

"Is this out of pity? Are you using me for something? Why are you being nice? It's so..." Nathan looked down, confused.

"_Pity_? Pfft... far from it, Prescott." Warren began, "We may not get along, but whether an enemy or not, my will to help others are always strong.

"Heh... you're such a fool..." Nathan shook his head, "What a fucking idiot you are."

"I may be a fool, but I know bigger ones who haven't even noticed themselves." He laughed lightly.

"Are you trying to start something, Graham? Huh?" Nathan glared at him.

"I'm not starting anything with you. I know the consequences." He peered at him, "And I'm willing to help any way I can. Whether enemy, acquaintance, or ally."

Nathan was irritated by Warren's kindness since he's never had anyone, other than Victoria, be so kind to him like this. It felt so abnormal to him that he didn't know how else to respond to it. He knew that the decent way to lessen the problems in his life for starters is to change. The last thing the person said in his dream popped up in his head, ' Give trust to those who are willing to help. You would be amazed of how much a person can change you.'

"_Give trust to those who are willing to help_, huh?" Nathan chuckled light, "I'd be amazed of how much a person can change me, huh? What kind of..." He gripped the bottle, trying to stay in disagreement with the person that said those in his dream.

"Hm? What are you talking about, Prescott?" Warren cocked his head, curiously confused.

"It's none of your business." Nathan snipped, then stopped himself from going further down the dark hole he's already in by slight politeness, "A-Anyway... let me say..." Nathan had difficulty saying it.

"No worries, Prescott." Warren smiled kindly, "I hope to see you in class so we can get our time together over with. That's what you want, don't you?"

Nathan's automatic response would've been _yes_ with an angered tone, but he was bewildered by how his reaction didn't occur. He didn't know what was wrong with him. All he could do was look up at Warren with a blank stare. Warren tensed up after seeing the blank stare he usually receives before getting hit or attacked by Nathan per usual. He was about to back away, but rooted to the floor after hearing words he never expected to hear come from Nathan Prescott's mouth.

Nathan looked down and mumbled, "Thanks... Graham..." Nathan lessened his tight grip on the bottle and looked up at Warren with a faint grin.

Warren's eyes widened by shock that it made his heart skip a beat. He didn't know why the hell his heart skipped a beat just from that faint grin he never saw before. The timid teen struggled to reach for his doorknob while his heart started to race. He didn't understand what was wrong with such an odd scene between the two, but he rushed out right when he opened the door.

"N-No problem, Prescott!" Warren slammed the door, gripping the doorknob, "What the hell was...?" Warren rested his hand on his chest, looking down.

Nathan was still in Warren's room, left alone in silence while Warren was right on the other side. They were both completely confused on what the hell has been up with their interactions, but they both tried to brush it off and continue with their daily lives, wanting to get their assignment that they have to work together on over with so they don't have to continue interacting with one another. They were both displeased of how their day began on an awkward note...


	15. Nightmare

**_Before Nathan Woke Up..._ **

Warren opened his door, trying to keep a good grip on Nathan so he doesn't hit him against a wall nor drop him on the floor. Even though a part of him wants to let it happen so badly, his will just wouldn't let him. A deep sigh escapes with a faint chuckle as his imagination runs wild of how it would turn out if he did drop him or hit him against things, but he did feel bad as he imagined such scenes. Once they entered his room, Warren lied Nathan on his couch as he soon stumbled back in his bed trying to catch his breath. He closed his eyes for a few minutes before sitting up, staring at the passed out teen.

"Man... for a guy your size, I thought you'd be lighter." Warren chuckled, "What the hell am I doing...?" He covered his face with his hands, sliding his hands down his face as he looked back over at the teen in front of him.

Warren was in shock he saw a vulnerable Nathan lying across from him. His breathing was even. His posture looked comfortable. Everything about his sleeping form looked as though those were the only times he was at peace. His head facing the ceiling. His body lying flat on the sofa. One arm resting on his stomach while the other lied right against his side. He looked like he was finally at ease. Something Warren never witnessed before, which is what left him with amazement of seeing someone that's usually angry, sociopathic, sometimes even seen murderous, just lie across from him appearing so... innocent.

"I seriously wonder what made him like this..." Warren stared at Nathan for a bit before getting up to get ready to head to class. The brown haired boy was about to walk out, but stopped after hearing a faint 'no' come from Nathan's lips.

"No... stop... I'm sorry..." Nathan mumbled, his expression changing into the look of fear, "I didn't..."

Warren jolted by the words leaving Nathan's lips. He was about to wake him up from what he presumed was a nightmare, but he felt if he did it would cause nothing, but death to himself. So he just slowly walked up to Nathan and sat beside him. Warren felt slight pain when seeing Nathan in such an unpleasant position in his life. The adolescent hoped if he listened to what Nathan kept mumbling, it would help him understand just even a little of what he's going through, but the things he said didn't give him enough clues on what's really troubling this teen.

"Why am I doing this...?" Warren sighed as he looked down at the floor, resting his hands on the back of his neck.

"Please... forgive... me..." Nathan mumbled, suddenly pulling lightly on Warrens shirt.

"Huh...?" Warren jolted by the sudden words and touch which made him look back at the adolescent who was still asleep, "Did he just..."

The timid teen was baffled on how to respond to it. He knew Nathan was saying it to someone in his dream, but just hearing him plead for forgiveness is something he never expected to hear from him. As Warren sat there with befuddle, he decided to try something. He put all faith into hoping this would reach through to the teen. He grabbed hold of Nathan's hand and once he did, he saw him jolt slightly, but a look of ease slowly appeared. Then he tried the next thing, hoping it will get through as well.

"I forgive you..." He began, "Everything will be okay... I forgive you... and so will everyone else."

Warren squeezed Nathan's hand lightly and placed it back on his chest, praying it got through to the teen. He noticed that Nathan looked like he was finally at ease again. He chuckled faintly as he got up. Warren was still weary from his mind and emotions playing passback of what to do, but he tried to keep in mind to take one step at a time. He headed towards the door and looked behind at Nathan one more time before heading to class.

** _After School..._ **

The teen attended school undetected from the girls he's been trying to avoid lately, "I hope Nathan got up and left my room..." Warren sighed, heading back to his dorm, "I hope he didn't trash it either..." He chuckled, betting Nathan did.

Warren opened the door and peeked through the crack, slowly walking in his own room with caution. He didn't see an unconcious Nathan on his couch so he was relieved enough to walk in calmly. Though once he walked inside, he tensed up immidiately, noticing a half naked Nathan lying on his bed. Without a second thought, he slammed his door, breathing heavily out of anxiousness.

"Why the hell is he still here and on my bed?!" Warren questioned himself, "Damn it..."

Warren knew what he had to do and he knew the consequences. He walked over to Nathan, hesitant of placing a hand on the teen to wake him up, but how else could he? He built up his courage to wake up the knocked out adolescent and tensed up. Nothing happened. He tried again and again, but still, nothing happened. The teen wouldn't wake up. Warren tried to then at least remove him from his bed, but he didn't want to touch him, so he tried to lightly kick him off the bed by placing his feet on Nathan's brief's. He wouldn't budge. Warren used all his might, but no results. Warren then tried to tug Nathan off his bed by the wrist, but he ended up stumbling back. The adolescent felt like Nathan was a full bag of bricks to which his annoyance increased to the point of leading him to resignation.

"Why did I do this...?" Warren asked himself again, "Are you punishing me Eistein? What did I ever do to end up in a situation like this? Did I make mistakes in science? Did I forget something in an experiment? What did I ever do?" He groaned as his annoyance led him to feeling drowsy to the point of falling back on his bed, lying beside Nathan, not thinking twice of what could possibly happen once waking up.

** _Present Time..._ **

Warren entered first period, still dazed by his emotional reaction towards Nathan's faint smile. The saddened look in his azure colored eyes. His stance looking as though all of his energy was drained. And his pale pink lips curling up faintly. The adolescent didn't understand how that expression hit him in a way he has never felt before. As several minutes passed, the sound of the bell ringing woke him up from his trance. The teen noticed the class was full, but still missing one student, and that of course being Nathan Prescott. A sigh escaped Warren's lips as he opened his binder, preparing for today's notes and setting aside his materials.

As Ms. Grant turned on her projector a student walked in, grabbing everyone's attention, leading to sudden gasps. Warren looked up from his notebook, wondering what the fuss was about and noticed someone sitting beside him. Warrens eyes opened widely by surprise, seeing his lab partner actually be in class. The beginning of class as a matter of fact.

Nathan rested his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together, placing his chin on his thumbs while his fingers shielded his lips and his legs on the sides of the stool, one leg shaking. He looked at the front, ignoring everyone's gaze, but peeked to the side as the projection turned on. The adolescent chuckled lightly after looking at a shocked Warren. He didn't understand why he found amusement toward the timid teens reaction, but just the sight of Warrens expression appeared to be priceless to Nathan.

The timid teen cleared his throat, "Heh... amazed to see you here, Prescott." Warren adjusted his posture into his original sitting position as he whispered to Nathan.

"You and me both, Graham... you and me both..." Nathan shook his head lightly, a faint chuckle escaping his lips.

Warren examined the teen that sat beside him, noticing he still wasn't doing so well, but at least better than before. Nathan's appearance looked a little disheveled, but the timid teen knew he had his reasons. His light brown hair slightly messy, some parts sticking up, looking as though he just slapped the gel in his hair. His Navy blue eyes making him look drowsy as though he hasn't slept for days. His light pink lips looking chapped. His clothes looking as though he just threw whatever was near.

Warren was still concerned of Nathan's conditions after seeing his face suddenly turn pale. Nathan closed his eyes while his hand turned into a tight fist, covering his mouth as though showing signs of holding in an urge to barf. The timid teen grabbed out his water bottle and handed it over to Nathan while still paying attention to the lecture. The adolescents both looked at each other, a perplexed look reappearing on Nathan's while a faint grin appeared on Warrens. A chuckle left both of their lips as the day continued onwards...

A few months passed and the two teens became more acquainted than they expected. Warren tried to dodge the girls pestering him even though he wanted to hang out with Max so badly while Nathan continued to help, well, more like forced to help his dad and teacher. As their time together continued to pass they felt they were becoming friends. Something no one, even them, expected to ever happen. Though their friendship did not last that long...

"Hey, Graham." Nathan walked into the lab after school, meeting up with Warren to check out the finishing touches, "How's it coming along? Need anything else for the project?"

"It's going better than I expected." He chuckled lightly, "I just need to adjust some of the materials and I think it'd be all set for next week." He grinned from ear to ear.

Nathan watched Warren finish the project, not even noticing he was practically gawking at him. As the adolescent was lost in thought of how things led up to this whole unexpected friendship, he was broken from the trance and brought back to the present as Warren waved his hand in front of him.

"Hey, everything okay?" Warren questioned, concerned.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah. Um... everything's fine." Nathan chuckled faintly, "Everything set?"

"Yep! All that's left is to test it." Warren pressed buttons, turning on the small machine.

"What exactly is it anyway?" Nathan asked with a weird feeling in his gut.

"It's a small machine that could help re-energize people." Warren began, "It's like an electric shock wave that can boost up your energy like you've slept a good eight to ten hours. It can help boost up your mood whenever down. And... it can help boost up your confidence whenever wanting to do something you felt you could never do." Warren spoke lowly, a feeling of self-pity wavering passed him, "To say it briefly, it's something that will help your emotions balance each other out."

"So... something that will practically cure mental illnesses...?" Nathan looked at Warren, his brows furrowed.

"Exactly." He smiled, "Something like that."

"Okay... so how does it work?" Nathan placed his hand on the metal ballshaped machine, "Ah! Christ! What the fuck was that?" He withdrew his hand fast, shaking his hand to cool off the burning heatwave he felt.

"Sorry I warned you too late." The timid teen rubbed his neck, "I just have to press this button to have it cool down for a bit then press the one next to it to start up the shockwave."

"Shockwave? Do you mean if I place my hand on this again it'll shock me?" The adolescent asked, confused, "Sometimes I don't get you..." He laughed a bit, shaking his head, "So... this shock better not hurt."

"It won't cause any painful effects, I promise." Warren laughed, "It'll just be one small shock that will send wavelengths through your body to tense then relax your muscles and wake up your brain cells to be more up and about to help notice your surroundings and even yourself."

"Huh... okay..." Nathan still didn't understand the main purpose, but he shrugged it off and awaited for the signal to try it out.

"Alright, you ready?" Warren looked over at him, ecstatic.

"It better not electrocute me." Nathan glared, though not as angrily as usual, "You know what? You touch it, too."

"What? Why? Aren't you the te-nevermind..." Warren stopped after seeing a familiar glare he hasn't seen for awhile appear across Nathan's face, "Okay... on three."

"Just get on with it already." Nathan growled, his patience reaching zero, "Three..." The adolescent grabbed Warrens wrist and pulled it down, their hands touching it in sync.

Within less than a few seconds flat, there was a big light flashing through the whole classroom, blinding both of them as a huge shock hits their hands, making the adolescents stumble back, falling to the floor.

"Ah... Christ... Graham! I thought you said it wouldn't hurt!" Nathan clenched his pained hand preparing to look up with his usual deathly stare.

Warren coughed, waving the smoke away from him, clenching his hand, too, "I'm sorry, I thought- Wh-What the fuck...?" Warren tensed up after looking in front of him, "Prescott...? Why... what... what the fuck happened?!"

"Huh...? WHAT?!" Nathan tensed up, freaking out, "What the hell is going on...?" He could barely spit out those words, "What the fuck did you do, Gayram?! Why are you me?!"

"Why are you me?!" Warren asked in turn.

"What?!" Nathan looked in the mirror that was in front, "How? Why? What the fuck is going on?!"

The two teens went straight into a severe panic attack after seeing something they hoped was just one. Fucking. Nightmare...


	16. Bickering

**Chapter Text**

"Holy shit... Holy shit... What the fuck happened?!" Warren rushed up to the desk, seeing the prototype he built practically go up in flames, "NO! This can't be happening! Why the fuck did this happen?! Not my prototype! Son of a—GAH!" The teen went into full panic mode over his prototype rather than the aftermath of their testing.

"Hey! Psycho! Stop crying over that damn prototype and explain what the fuck just happened?!" Nathan gripped Warren's collar and pinned him against the wall, feeling weird after gripping practically himself.

"I-I don't know! I don't know how this happened! I don't know what..." Warren fell silent.

"Hey, Einstein! Snap out of it and figure out how the fuck we can switch back!" Nathan head-butted Warren, "I don't want to be stuck in this lame ass body and I sure as hell don't want you doing anything stupid in mine!"

"I know! I don't want that either!" Warren pushed Nathan, heading back towards the desk, "Son of a... I don't know how this happened..." He gripped his head, trying to keep himself together to figure out how to undo what just happened, "Only possible way I can think of is to rebuild this and do the same exact thing in order to switch back..."

"You're shitting me... right?" Nathan scoffed with disbelief, "This has got to be some kind of fucked up joke!"

"I wish it was... I seriously wish it was, but..." Warren covered his mouth, closing his eyes, trying to keep a tight hold of himself, finishing his explanation, "It's going to take a bit for me to rebuild this."

"How long?" Nathan clenched his hands tightly, trying to stay level headed as he waited for an answer.

"Four months minimum... six months maximum..." Warren mumbled, beginning to feel weak, dropping to his knees, looking at the broken pieces that were lying on the ground.

"Are you telling me we'll be stuck this way until the end of Senior. Fucking. Year?!" Nathan shouted to the top of his lungs.

All Warren could do was look up at Nathan with a look of seriousness as though he practically answered for him. The room was completely silent to where you could hear a pin drop. Nathan's anger rose to the very top to where he wanted to deck Warren so badly, but he knew it wouldn't make a change in the results and he sure as hell did not want to beat himself up. Literally. A deep sigh escaped both of their lips as they slumped down against their desk, exhausted from their bickering.

"...You can head back if you want." Warren said, resting his head against the cupboards, staring out in space, "Just... please don't go through my things in the meantime." He glanced over, expressionless.

"Wait... are you telling me I have to stay in your room?!" Nathan tensed up with anger.

"What the hell did you expect, Prescott? Us staying in our rooms when we're in the other persons body?" Warren glared as he rhetorically questioned, "That will definitely lead to suspicion and who knows what the hell would happen if this went public!" He stated clearly with frustration.

"Goddamn this all to hell!" Nathan growled as he slammed his fist against one of the cupboards, unable to retaliate that obvious statement.

"Just... go back to the dorms. I need time alone to figure this out." Warren stood up, his hands clenched tightly from irritation as he tried to clear his mind to figure out what to do.

"Fine... but don't go through my things when you return to the dorms or else you'll be a dead man." Nathan said, knowing he literally would be one if he ever found out about the secrets, "Ugh... I need a drink... call me if you need anything that would help this progress faster." He sighed deeply, walking out of the classroom, massaging his head, "Later, Graham..."

"Oh! One more thing... you need to control your temper." Warren began, tensing up after noticing how he phrased it, "You have to act like me, like I have to act like you."

"So you're telling me I have to be a fucking wimp ass, know-it-all, science geek that has the personality and strength of a fragile woman?" Nathan smirked.

Warren growled as he glared, not wanting to start anything, but wanting to get back at him, "Yeah... like I have to be an arrogant, lying ass, short-tempered guy that has the attention span of a walnut."

They stared daggers at each other before a sudden laugh escaped both of their lips. They didn't know how things changed between them, but with the positions they were in, humor was the only thing keeping them sane for the time being. They both knew they wanted to kick each others ass, but with them not being in their own body's, they sure as hell did not want to cause any damage to their own body.

"Anyway, keep me up to date. I don't want to deal with this shit any longer than it already has to be dealt with." Nathan spoke before leaving the room.

"You and me both..." Warren responded as he waved Nathan off.

Nathan walked out of the classroom, heading towards the door to walk outside and take a breather. Frustration continued to grow as he felt odd for being in Warrens body. He felt more awkward than when he was in his own. He felt weak and scrawny, but there was one thing he didn't feel and that being his muscle spasm. The adolescent was surprised, but he still didn't like the fact that he had to act like Warren. As he tried to clear his head so he could stay calm, he suddenly recalled the things Warren would have to face in the mean time.

"Shit!" Nathan said, realizing what would happen if Warren didn't part take in his dads work.

He bolted back to the classroom, suddenly bumping into a jock that was one of Warren's bullies, "Hey! Watch where you're going, Science Nerd!"

"Ugh... Christ... Shut it, dickweed!" Nathan shouted by impulse, bolting up with a glare.

"Excuse me?! What the fuck did you just call me?" The jock pushed him, pissing him off even more.

"Don't you dare lay another fucking grimy finger of yours on me again or else it'll be bent back, pointing towards the lame ass piece of shit it belongs to." Nathan exclaimed.

"Why you—?!" Before the jock could even strike Nathan, he hook punched him in the jaw and kneed him in the gut, watching the guy fall to the ground with a groan.

"Better watch it next time, fucking dick!" Nathan growled before running back to the classroom, not even noticing he caused a scene.

"Graham! I need to talk to you for a sec— What the hell is up with you?" Nathan stopped in his tracks, seeing the teen have a sudden mental break down.

"Huh...?" Warren looked up, "Oh... n-nothing... just watching my future go up in flames." He chuckled, rubbing his face that was sweating profusely.

"What are you talking about?" Without another word, Warren pointed out a scene Nathan created that was right outside the building in plain sight, "Shit..."

"Well, I had a feeling you wouldn't be able to hold in your anger." He scoffed, "Typical..."

"Graham, you have to understand its a force of habit!" Nathan exclaimed, "Plus, that shit right there is nothing. Nothing compared to what I have to tell you."

"Oh? And what might be worst than what you caused right out there?" Warren questioned, still staring at the busted up prototype, keeping his mind off the terrible outcomes.

"Well..." Nathan didn't know how to explain the things in a way while not giving out hints of the secrets going on in his life, "Meet me in your dorm... I'll tell you more there. Oh, and don't talk to __anyone__ when you leave." He exclaimed, "Also... as for me punching that asshole... I practically did you a favor." He scoffed, running out the door, trying to avoid the scene that was causing a commotion outside.

"Whatever..." Warren sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his head as he began to clean up the mess, wanting the day to just come to an end.


	17. Nervous

Nathan was pacing back and forth in a panic, biting his thumb, waiting for Warren to show up in his room. He was hoping no one would stop Warren while returning, but he had a sharp feeling in his gut that Warren was stopped by someone. The adolescent was in a slight panic by the thought of who it would be. If anything, the teen hoped it was Victoria... or even Samantha.

_ **Meanwhile...** _

"Okay... and finally... done!" Warren sighed with a grin of accomplishment, "Well, I guess I can pack and head back to the dorms now and-?!" As the teen turned to grab his materials he saw someone leaning on the door in the entrance, "H-Hey, M-Mr. Jefferson...?" He stiffened once noticing the presence of Nathan's teacher.

"Hello, Nathan." Mr. Jefferson grinned, looking as though he was hiding something behind that smile, "How has life been the past few months? Haven't heard from you in awhile, Nate."

"O-Oh, you know... j-just helping Graham with this stupid project." Warren tried to act the part, but had a feeling he was failing, "H-How has life been with you?"

"Oh, you know, just speaking with your dad about our next business." Mr. Jefferson folded his arms, calmly speaking in a tone which made Warren feel slight discomfort.

"R-Really now? How fascinating." Warren grinned by accident, forgetting Nathan isn't much of a giddy person.

"Well, this happens to be the first I've seen you grin since freshman year. Anything good happen to you while your dad and I have been working?" The man chuckled faintly, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh, n-no, n-not really. J-Just been... just been keeping myself on top of school for once." He chuckled faintly, trying to keep himself together while putting as much effort as he could to act like Nathan.

"Hm... Well, I hope to see you smile more in the future as well." Mr. Jefferson grinned, "I hope we get to meet later tonight and continue our last conversation."

"W-Will do." His smile never left as he gave Mr. Jefferson a thumbs up, feeling as though he was making Nathan look like an idiot.

"See you then." Mr. Jefferson smirked, waving good-bye while walking out.

"Y-Yeah..." Warren mumbled, discomfort still surrounding him even though Mr. Jefferson left, "I hope this didn't lead to any suspicion..." The adolescent groaned with prayers.

Warren packed in a hurry, wanting to leave school grounds to talk to Nathan about what happened and to hear what Nathan has to say. As he tried to sneak his way through school grounds, he got grabbed by the arm. He jolted by the feel, frozen solid by the intensity he felt by the sudden scare. He didn't want to turn. The teen just wanted to yank his arm away and bolt, but he didn't want to raise any problems, so he turned slowly.

"Ch-Chase..." Warren said by habit.

"Nate? Why did you just call me by my last name?" Victoria questioned, releasing the teen.

"Huh? Oh! S-Sorry! Hey, V-Vic...?" He said, shuddering by the feel of awkwardness.

"Whatever... anyway, can we talk?" Victoria looked up at him, gripping onto her bag as though pleading nervously to hear a yes.

"S-Sure... what's up?" He smiled by impulse again, leading Victoria's eyes to widen by surprise.

"S-Sorry, the thing I've been wanting to talk about is the issue with Sam." Victoria began, "I just wanted to apologize for doing such things behind your back, when I should have spoken to you directly beforehand about it." The teen looked up at him, biting her bottom lip, "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, Vic." He chuckled, smiling gently at her, not even noticing what he was doing, "Water under the bridge. You are my best friend after all, aren't you?" He grinned genuinely.

"S-Seriously?" Her eyebrows knitted as she cocked her head with the look of shock.

"Seriously." The teen laughed, suddenly going in for a hug.

"Is everything okay, Nate?" Victoria questioned.

"Yeah, why?" Warren released her, confused on why she asked such a question.

"You're not really much of a hugger and it takes you awhile to forgive like this." She laughed faintly, looking baffled, "I-I have nothing against this at all, it's just I'm wondering what's been happening?"

"Huh? O-Oh! I'm just feeling great as ever! You know? The sun shining down on me for once. Life taking a turn for the better!" He laughed, sweat dripping down his forehead as he gulped down hard.

_Shit!_ He said to himself in his head, noticing too late.

"Okay... well, um... seeing as to how we seem to be on better terms now, want to go to the lighthouse and smoke a peace pipe? Maybe take pictures to relax like old times?" Victoria asked, feeling a little awkward by the change of characteristic Nathan's been giving.

"M-Maybe later! I got to go meet up with someone." Warren shimmied his way passed her, "Well, see ya tomorrow!" He waved as he ran off.

_Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!_ Warren shouted in his head,_ I'm so dead!_

Once he reached the dorms, he slowed down, catching his breath. He sighed deeply, composing himself before walking into the building. As Warren was getting closer and closer, he was beginning to feel sick to his stomach. He felt claustrophobic as he walked down the halls, gripping his chest tightly as he felt it tighten, suddenly feeling a sharp piercing pain in his temple.

"Wh-What the hell...?" Warren gripped his chest with one hand while the other gripped his head.

** _You're worthless! Nobody loves you!_ **

"Wh-What the fuck?!" The adolescent tensed up, his heart pounding out of his chest, "What is going on?!" He leaned forward, his head pounding as his chest tightened, "Okay, Warren... breathe... just... breathe..." The teen breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm himself down, "What the fuck was that...?" He sighed deeply, resting his hands on his knees, trying to ease himself.

"Graham! Get your ass in here!" Nathan grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him in fast, slamming the door behind them, "What the hell took you so long?! And why the hell were you standing out there?!"

"H-Huh...? Oh... y-yeah... sorry about that..." He shook his head to clear it, questioning himself on what that was that happened a few minutes ago, "W-Well, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Please tell me you didn't run into anybody on your way back!" Nathan looked at him, clenching his hands tightly, begging to hear a no.

"N-No! Of course not! E-Everything is just fine! I didn't bump into anyone at all!" He lied, leaving Nathan to narrow his eyes with suspicion.

"Who the fuck did you run into, Gayram?!" The angered teen asked, gritting his teeth.

"N-No one! I swear!" He held up his hand as though surrendering to his predator.

"Stop fucking lying to me and tell me who the fuck you ran into on the way back!" Nathan growled, "Don't think I can't tell when someone is lying!"

Warren groaned, "F-Fine... Jefferson walked into the classroom when I was finished cleaning and... Victoria grabbed me while I was sneaking my way back here." He hunched his head down, praying he won't get killed by the confession.

"What the fuck happened during...?" Nathan asked, trembling by the countless thoughts in his head.

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all!" He took a few steps back.

Nathan glared deeply at Warren, feeling it was just another lie. The teen wanted to hit him so badly, but he knew it wouldn't make any changes, let alone make anything better. He sighed deeply with a groan, scratching the back of his head, turning around as he resigned to do anything regrettful. Nathan turned back around and tried to calmly ask what happened on his way back, until he heard a couple dings on his phone, informing him he was receiving messages.

"Hand me the phone, Graham." He held out his hand, his eyes boring into his.

"Huh? What? Why?!" Warren tensed up, having a feeling the notifications are going to lead him to death.

"Hand me the goddamn phone!" Nathan shouted, gripping the collar of his shirt, digging into his pocket, pulling out his phone, "What the fuck is the meaning of this, Gayram?! What the fuck did you say and do?!"

"What?! Nothing! I didn't do anything!" He shouted, praying it wasn't from the people he bumped into, but his prayers weren't answered.

"Then explain these messages!" Nathan screeched with anger.

** _Vic: Hey, I'm happy things are better and I have to admit that hug threw me off guard, but I have no complaints. Lol I'll see you tomorrow and hope we can hang out either tonight or after school tomorrow. 3_ **

** _Unknown: I hope we meet tonight as we planned before you left class. I expect everything to go on without a hitch or else you know the consequences._ **

"What does that unknown person, who I assume is Jefferson, mean by _consequences_? What's going on, Prescott?" Warren questioned.

"Stop changing the subject and answer what the hell happened when you were on your way back." Nathan growled.

"Not until you tell me what business you have with Jefferson!" Warren fought back.

Nathan was infuriated by how things were turning out, "Christ... okay... the thing is-?!" The teens tensed up after hearing a ring come from Nathan's phone, "Shit..." Once they looked at his phone, it was the man he hates with a burning passion. The teen didn't want to answer, but he knew if he didn't, he'd be screwed.

"Sh-Should we answer...?" Warren asked.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Nathan clenched his hand tightly, looking terrified, "O-Okay... here's how it's going to go." The adolescent began, grabbing a notebook that was on the bedside of Warren's bed, "You answer normally and as calmly as possible, put it on speaker, I'll write down what you should say, and... and after... I'll explain everything. Just please... for the love of God, I beg of you... do not ruin this or else my ass will be dead the next day. So please..." He looked at Warren, his look of terror never left.

Warren was in shock by the look and just nodded his head, pressing the answer button with shakened hands, "Hello?" He spoke as he tried to not answer with nervousness.


	18. Explanation

**Chapter Text**

"**_**_Hello, son._**_**" Nathan rolled his eyes once hearing his dad's voice, "__****Seeing how everything is working smoothly, Mark and I are almost done with the finishing touches.****__"

"Okay, what the hell are you expecting me to do this time?" Warren read aloud, trying his best to sound like Nathan.

"__****I'm needing you to throw a party this weekend and make sure this adolescent named, Kate Marsh, arrives to this one.****__" His dad chuckled, sounding as though he couldn't wait to grasp her firmly in his clutches.

"What success are you getting out of this one this time?" Warren questioned with a firm, growling tone as though putting effort into holding back his anger like Nathan would normally do.

"**_**_Oh, you'll see once you bring her to us._**_**" His dad responded with a sound of content, "**_**_I'll give you more information once you bring her to us. I have to go. Don't disappoint me._**_**"

"Yeah... whatthefuckever." He groaned with annoyance as he hung up.

Nathan sighed deeply once Warren hung up, dropping the notebook and pen to the floor as though falling weak. He slumped back on the couch, resting his head on the back as he covered his face with his arms with a loud groan from his frustration. Nathan felt Warren sit beside him, hearing him clear his throat, signalling it's his time to come forward on what's going on.

"So, why is Kate involved in this?" Warren asked, awaiting an answer.

"...Marsh isn't the only one that's involved in this..." Nathan spoke weakly, trying to keep himself composed from his mixed emotions of frustration and sadness.

"What do you mean?" Warren asked, wanting clarification.

"Rachel Amber, Chloe Price, Brooke Scott, Stella Hill, Courtney Wagner, Samantha Myers... and Victoria Chase..." Nathan began, "All victims of that dickwad of a dad and that sick fucker's twisted way of photography they both happen to call __art__... or whatever the fuck they call it. That dick I don't even want to call dad uses it as blackmail while Jefferson uses it as his so-called __masterpieces__ of his hes been using the past three years." He sighed deeply, peeking over at Warren, wondering how he's reacting to the explanation.

__So that's why Nathan wasn't acting like himself at that last party...__ Warren thought to himself, "This has been going on for__three__ years?"

Nathan nodded, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "Samantha Myers was the very first..." The adolescent began, "The first that asshole handed over to me."

"What do you mean, __handed over__ to you?" Warren asked, perplexed by the statement.

"He tried to make me join him and Jefferson on taking pictures of... of the teenage girls that attend Blackwell Academy at their most idiotic, vulnerable, and/or whore-like state whether they're the innocent type or not. If they're wasted, smoking dope, shooting up, or snorting anything that'll hit them and lead them to leaving reality for the time being, leading them to do stupid shit, well then those are just bonuses for those two assholes." Nathan closed his eyes, trying to stay calm so he can ignore the countless memories of what has happened the past three, almost four years, "I tried to back out of this shit after taking photo's of Sam, but right after that, they had me right in their grasps."

"Why did you do it?" Warren asked.

"Do what?" Nathan glanced over.

"Why did you take photo's of her in the first place?" His voice became a bit sharp as he growled faintly.

"Well, what the fuck did you expect me to do?" Nathan scoffed, "I was gripped tightly by those two assholes, practically threatened and then a camera was shoved in my hands. It was either life or death at that point, so I had no. Fucking. Choice." The teen turned toward Warren, glaring sharply at him, "Which would you have chosen, Graham? Hm?"

"Alright already, I'm sorry... goodness." Warren held up his hands, scared by the sudden glare and sharp tone.

"Christ..." Nathan covered his face with his hands and slid them down, feeling exhausted from anxiety, "I've tried thinking of ways to put an end to this shit, but it all leads to consequences." He sighed deeply, "Just because I show anger and become aggressive does not mean I have the will to go further."

"What do you mean by that, Prescott?" Warren looked over at him with furrowed brows.

Nathan inhaled deeply and sighed with a huff before responding, "The __actual__ reason why I was given that gun was not to defend myself, but to... to threaten and/or kill if necessary..." He closed his eyes tightly, biting the inside of his mouth after admitting the main use of the gun.

"Are you fucking serious?!" Warren bolted up, shocked by the sudden confession.

Nathan nodded slowly, "I keep it on me at all times because I was told never to leave it anywhere anyone could find it..." He opened his eyes slowly, examining all over the room, resting his head on his hands, "That's why it's in the vest right now." The teen pointed out.

"What the fuck?!" Warren pulled it out and instantly dropped it as though it was something that could burn his hands.

"For Christ's sake, Graham! Be careful with that! There are times where I don't have the safety on!" Nathan picked it up, checking out the gun.

"I'm sorry... I just... I can't for the life of me carry a gun." Warren held up his hand, his eyes landing straight on the gun with a look of discomfort.

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you, but you have to whether you want to or not." Nathan stood up and placed it back in Warren's vest once checking out every part of it.

"Why do I have to carry it?!" Warren stepped back looking down at his vest.

"For fuck's sake, Graham! The safety is on. There's only one bullet in it. I checked every bit and piece of it. You're safe! There's nothing for you to cry over!" Nathan growled with frustration, "As long as you don't do anything with it and keep it out of sight, all will be golden. Understood?"

"Okay... alright..." Warren looked down, still feeling uncomfortable being armed.

"Understood?!" Nathan repeated himself, expecting Warren to repeat, too.

"Understood. Goodness..." Warren sighed deeply, then looked over at Nathan, "So, what are we having to do now?"

"We have to go meet Bowers that's staying at the beach. Then you're going to have to talk to Vic on helping out with the invitations. Then you're having to convince the unvalued one's you know so much about to join the party." Nathan picked up the notebook and pen to write down instructions.

"Bowers? As in Frank Bowers? The drug dealer?" Warren asked for clarification.

"Yep... the only dealer in this town, dumbass." Nathan scoffed.

"Wait, is that guy involved in this?" Warren questioned.

"He doesn't know shit on what the use of these drugs we order are for. We keep our businesses to ourselves. So that lucky bastard isn't involved in this helluva ordeal." Nathan chuckled, shaking his head, irritated, "But seeing as to how you're in my body and I'm in yours. You're under the same situation as I am. Hope you have a lot of anger buried under that timid, fragile, whateverthefuck that weak shit is you have under that soul of yours." The teen glanced behind him, seeing Warren tense up, "Christ... hope we survive..." Nathan clenched his hands tightly once he was done writing, "Your life is on the line, Gayram. And so is mine. So if you want to make it through until that stupid invention is completed to switch us back, you best listen on what to do or else we're both screwed and we'll be six feet under within a matter of seconds if we mess __anything__ up!" He turned towards him.

"Alright..." Warren looked up at Nathan, still queasy from having a gun hidden in his vest, "Then we better start learning more about one another if we want to pull this off until then." The adolescent sighed deeply, "Shall we begin?"

"Yeah..." Nathan huffed, trying to rid all of the irritation so he could focus more to survive this nightmare neither one could wake up from, "Let's start..."


	19. A Fragment of Memory

**Chapter Text**

"I don't know if I can do this, Prescott." Warren trembled by the thought of all the negative outcomes rushing through his mind, "I mean, seriously, how the hell do you have the will to buy these drugs and put them in girls drinks so easily?"

Nathan scoffed, "I don't have the will to do anything, Graham." He stared steadily into his eyes, trying to hide his look of fear, "It's the threats that are pushing me to do this. I don't want to do this at all, but I have no choice in the matter. And you know that... you've witnessed it yourself." The adolescent tried to stay calm.

Warren stayed silent for several seconds, not knowing how to rebuttal what Nathan pointed out. The timid teen stood there, planted in place, having difficulty to stride forward. Warren felt he needed a push, but in all honesty, he didn't want to go through this at all. Just by the thought of drugging girls at the party made him sick to his stomach. The reserved bairn hesitated and tried to stall as long as possible, but once a few minutes passed, he was pushed without realizing until he heard the voice of Frank Bowers. Warren glared over at Nathan, both pissed and terrified of what just happened and what is about to occur.

"What the fuck took you so long?" Frank glared at the teen, turning his heels and going in his RV, "Christ... get your ass over here if you want your damn drugs." He walked out seconds after, holding out a paper bag.

"What's in it?" Warren questioned by the cause of curiosity and hesitation.

"The stuff you ordered, dumbass." Frank glared, "Now hurry up! I don't have all day!"

Warren flinched by the sharpness in Frank's tone, automatically handing him the wad of cash Nathan handed him earlier. The teen slowly went to grab the bag, his conscience telling him not to grab it. Frank growled and shoved it against the adolescent's chest with force, making the teen stumble backwards, close to falling, but he caught himself before falling to the ground.

"Ah... geez..." Warren held the bag with one hand while his other hand rubbed against the stinging pain on his chest, "Um... thanks." He mumbled, noticing too late he was suddenly being somewhat kind.

"Whatever..." Frank said, turning around.

Warren looked in the bag, curious on the contents inside it. As his curiosity got the best of him, he didn't realize a dog was heading towards him until he stumbled back, falling to the concrete, landing on his butt.

"W-What the fuck?!" Warren was startled by the sudden attack of licks coming from the dog, "H-Hey, where did you come from little guy?" By habit, a smile came gliding across his face as he petted the dog, "Well, aren't you just a sweet little furball?" He chuckled, rubbing his cheek against the dogs.

"What the hell...?" Frank murmured, looking at him, shocked, "He usually hates you. When the hell did...?" He fell silent.

"Hm? Oh! S-Sorry... I... I should get going." Warren stood up quickly, walking away from the area.

Frank's dog barked and ran up to Warren with a bag in his mouth. Warren jolted by the bark and turned once feeling a nudge against his leg. His eyes partially widened by surprise before they turned into a gentler look. A smile crossed his face as he knelt down to accept the bag and pet the dog, ruffling it's head gently before standing up, thanking him, telling him to return to his master. Warren watched the dog until it returned to Frank then looked into the bag as he walked away.

"What the hell was that?" Frank mumbled, petting his dog, dumbfounded by his dogs actions.

"Did you get everything?" Nathan questioned, concerned, "That dog didn't attack you, right?"

"Hm? Oh! Y-Yeah, I got everything and no, he didn't. I'm fine as you can see." He chuckled, confused, "Why?" Warren asked, cocking his head to the side.

"That stupid mutt always barks and growls at me whenever I come and buy the drugs." Nathan groaned out of irritation, "I don't understand why it always tries to attack me each time."

"Have you ever been in physical contact with an animal? __Ever__?" Warren questioned, filled with disbelief and slight concern.

Nathan's eyes squinted, looking over at Warren, skeptical to even answer, "I..." The annoyed teen sighed deeply, "I did when I was ten and I ended up in the hospital for a couple days..." He looked down, his jaw tightening after remembering, "My sister was the only one that came to visit and the only one that helped me out." His hands suddenly clenched tightly, "Ever since then, I've feared animals..."

"Then there's your reason." Warren spoke instantly, "Animals tend to feel your emotions and act on it."

"What are you talking about?" Nathan wanted clarification.

"I assume ever since then you began to try and hate animals and tried to scare them off, but every time it just backfired, right?" A faint smile came across his face as he huffed out a small laugh, looking over at the troubled teen before looking over at the dog that was playing with Frank, "Well, if you ever want to interact with animals, all you have to do is approach them slowly, be calm, and show... affection." Warren looked back at Nathan, "All it takes is a smile."

Nathan scoffed, looking away from Warren, thinking the idea was just straight up stupid. But even though doubt crossed his mind, something inside him felt as though Warren had somewhat of a point. He didn't want to ask himself, let alone admit it, but he thought to himself on when the last time he truly smiled. Without Nathan even realizing it, he began spacing out, his mind, whether he wanted to or not, tried to remember at least one good memory before his dad pushed him into doing these misdeeds.

**__Three Years Ago...__**__

"Hey, Nathan!" Someone yelled out from behind.

The young teen turned, following the owner of the voice, "Hm? Oh, hey, Sam, what's up?" Nathan waved with a faint grin before looking forward and down at his camera.

"Is that a new one?" Sam asked, standing closely beside him.

"Yeah, my sister bought it for me. An early birthday present." Nathan exposed a childish grin without even noticing as he admired the gift, "Isn't it just beautiful?" He chuckled faintly.

"Not as beautiful as that smile of yours." Rachel passed by the two teens with a giggle.

The two teens jolted by the sudden approach and quick leave. Nathan's heart leaped by the sudden words. Confused, surprised, and flattered by the sudden compliment which made him smile sheepishly. As for Sam, something simmered inside her stomach which left her to questioning herself on why she was annoyed by Rachel's sudden approach and unexpected words.

"I don't blame her." Sam spoke up, trying to grab his attention off of the carefree teen, "You do have a very nice smile." The girl grinned, "Those faint rose colored lips curled up, exposing those pearly white teeth of yours. Something rarely any of us see." A giggle left her lips.

"Yeah..." Nathan mumbled, looking down, hiding his faintly crimson colored cheeks that were burning up by the feel of embarrassment.

"Oh, by the way, seeing as to how your birthday is coming up, would you care to celebrate it together with me?" Sam looked over shyly, having slight difficulty on keeping her eyes on him, "Victoria can tag along. Just the three of us? Well, four if your sister's available?"

Nathan glanced over, his eyes landing on Sam's. He felt his heart beat begin to rise as his lips urged him to smile. While his lips wanted to curl up again, his mind kept him away from it. But even though his mind kept him away from the happiness that was arising, a bit of it filled his heart. A small nod came from Nathan, accepting Sam's offer as a small grin slid across his face.

"Yay!" Sam cheered a little like a stereotypical school girl, "Okay, I'll have everything planned!" The teen hugged him without any thought before rushing off, "I'll see you tomorrow!" She waved.

Nathan shook his head with a chuckle before looking back at his camera.

**__Present Time...__**__

"What the hell was that?" Warren stumbled back, "What... What the hell just happened?"

"Huh?" Nathan shook his head, clearing his mind before looking over at the confused teen.

"Did you... did you just have a flashback?" Warren tried to steady himself, looking over at Nathan, "Is that... Is that one good moment that happened in your life before? Did you actually smile?"

"What? No! Of course not! Shut it! It's none of your fucking business!" He glared instantly, walking ahead of Warren, "Let's just get out of here and hurry up with this already. I don't have all day!"

"You don't have to worry about this." Warren chortled, "You're not the one in-?!"

"Yes, I am! I'm the one that has to plan all this shit out! The one that has to make this a hitch or else I will fucking die! And you know that, Gayram!" Nathan poked him in the chest, pissed by Warren's sudden statement.

"Alright, I'm sorry." Warren held up his hands, surrending to Nathan's agitation.

"Christ... Think of the fucking consequences, Graham. Because if you die in my body... who knows what the hell would happen then." The agitated teen bit the inside of his mouth, his heart racing by the countless thoughts, "You have __no__ fucking idea of what could possibly happen if things go South."

"Okay... I'm sorry..." The apologetic teen looked down, guilt spreading through his body, "I'll put as much effort as I can so nothing horrible will happen to either of us." He placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder, hoping to comfort him.

"Whatthefuckever... Let's just go already..." Nathan brushed off Warren's hand, walking ahead of him.

"Okay..." Warren stayed back for a few minutes. He tried to analyze on what just happened before following behind Nathan, hoping things will end on a high note. If not today, then at least any time soon.


	20. Comforting

Warren wanted to question Nathan more about his past, but he felt he'd be stepping over his boundaries again per usual. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he looked out the window, falling into deep thought, trying to keep himself from prying into Nathan's past life.

Nathan glanced over, noticing the other teen staring out the window, a bit irritated by how carefree Warren looks. The teen driver knew there was really no right to have complaints of how the timid teen lived his life, let alone a reason to threaten him or get under his skin. Nathan felt an emotion he hasn't dealt with before, and that emotion is envy. He was in denial when that word entered his mind. Most teens would _love_ to live a _rich_, _fancy_ lifestyle like Nathan's. Nathan scoffed by the thought of if others knew the truth behind the curtains of the Prescott heritage.

"What's so funny?" Warren questioned, still looking out the window.

"Nothing of your concerns, Graham." Nathan sighed, resting his elbow on the door, feeling pressure and coldness from the window, having one hand on the wheel, "Just mind your own business."

Warren sighed deeply, closing his eyes, his face down, feeling a bit irked and worried at the same time. The teen had the urge to speak up and question the other one, but swallowed his tongue, trying best he could to keep his mouth shut. He glanced over at Nathan, noticing his expression looked... miserable. Miserable to the point of where it looked as though he was about to break down again. Warren knew there was a high possibility to a death sentence, but he risked it. He reached out to Nathan, praying his eyes wouldn't turn dark, let alone freak out and crash the vehicle.

Nathan jolted a little by the touch, before glancing over at the timid teen. His mind wanted to hit him to get him off his back, but there was something that held him back. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he was surprised he didn't want to hit Warren. He fell into denial again, pretending the reason is because he didn't want to beat himself up. Literally.

Nathan shook his head with a scoff, "Remove your hand, before I remove it for you..." He gripped the wheel as a warning.

"Oh, come on. Don't _beat __yourself_ _up_, Prescott." Warren tried to joke, feeling like a complete and utter idiot.

"Christ... do you _ever _stop and think seriously for once?!" Nathan growled.

"When's the last time you cracked a smile after a joke rather than an insult, Prescott? Hm?" The timid teen cocked his head to the side, a small, teasing look.

The other teen glared over at Warren, not wanting to listen to the others fair statement, "Just shut up and follow orders if you want to survive, Gayram. 'K?" He growled.

"I'm gonna find a way to make you laugh whether you want to or not." Warren chuckled, "You may threaten me, but you wouldn't want to kill yourself, would ya?"

Nathan groaned, slamming the breaks, making the vehicle stop instantly, making the wheels screeched, leading the tires to raise some smoke. He gripped the wheel with both hands, trying to hold in his annoyance that always lead to anger, but by impulse, he let his steam all out.

"Seriously, Graham! What the fuck is up with you?! Aren't you ever scared of what goes on in our lives and the consequences we make if we do _one_ wrong move?! Have you ever seen the real world?! What emotion besides fear and humor do you have, Graham?! Tell me that!" He jerked his head over to stare daggers at Warren.

Warren jolted by the sudden bark and glare. Something he has seen himself _never _doing. He leaned against the door and gulped, feeling as though he was cornered from the Grim Reaper himself. The timid teen wanted to say something. _Anything. _But his mouth wouldn't open. Nothing would come up his throat and leave his lips. His whole body was tensed up to where it felt as though he was going through the aftermath of jumping off a building. Warren breathed as calmly as he could to ease his beating heart, hoping it would give him the ability to speak up. Once he caught his breath, he looked down with a sigh before looking back up at the angered teen.

"I... I am scared _every _single fucking day, Prescott. I am scared of failing one to almost _everything. _I am scared of losing my chance with Max. I am even terrified of _you_, to be honest." He gulped, "And I have seen the real world countless times to which is what lead me to this school in the first place, Prescott! I have other emotions besides fear and humor! I just don't like throwing it on others... why not learn something from that, Prescott?"

"What are you getting at, Graham? Hm? Are you telling me how I should feel? How I should live my life? You have no fucking _clue _of the life sentences I have under this bastard of a father I deal with." He let go of the steering wheel, facing Warren, holding out his index finger towards him with his usual, infamous glare, "You don't know the shit I have to deal with on a daily basis."

"I _am_ having to _now_, so why not enlighten me, Prescott?" He glared in turn, not backing down this time, "Or are you just going to turn me down and hide in your shell like always?"

Even though he knew he was going to beat himself up at this point, Nathan growled loudly as though a sign of a beating is about to occur, his hands clenching tightly, preparing to yell, but was soon silenced by a sudden hug, "What the fuck...?" He jolted, his hands loosening as though falling weak, "Let me fucking go, Gayram!" He tried to pry him off of him, but his body denied on putting all its strength against him.

"Why the fuck won't you ever open up, Prescott?" Warren whispered, "Why won't you ever take a second to let yourself breathe for once?" He tightened the hug, "Please let someone help you out for once, for fuck's sake..."

Nathan's heart became heavy, his mind drew a blank, and his body reacted all on it's own. He closed his eyes tightly. Tightened his jaw. Gripped on Warren's shoulders, digging his nails into his jacket as though hanging onto him for dear life. All of this releasing at once before burying his face in the crook of his neck, bawling without trying his best to hold it all in.

Warren wanted to question Nathan this time since it seemed he was finally at his vulnerable moment, but something held him back. Instead of questioning something that seemed very vital, he felt a silent moment of releasing all emotions would help more than questions that could lead to a possible comfort.


	21. Suspicions

One of their phones suddenly went off, making both of them jolt. Warren rolled his eyes with a growl while Nathan put himself back together, a groan escaping as he reached over to grab his phone.

"Huh?" Nathan was surprised it wasn't his that went off. He dug in his own pocket, pulling out Warren's phone, "Heh... shocker she'd be calling you." The adolescent laughed with a smirk as he glanced over, "I wonder what her reason to call you is." He glanced over at the timidly nervous teen. "What? Worried I'd ruin your chance?"

"_W-What_? What makes you think that?" Warren laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Just ignore it." Warren reached out to grab his phone, but Nathan held it back, pressing the answer button.

"Hey, what's up, Mad Max?" Nathan smirked, looking over at the stress filled teen, seeing him in a praying position.

_Dear God, please let this not expose my secret._ Warren prayed.

"W-What the hell...?" Nathan grumbled, grabbing hold of his head.

"_Everything alright, Warren?_" Max asked on the other end.

"Huh? Oh, e-everything's fine, Max." He massaged his temple, trying to lessen the sudden feel of stress, "Everything's fine. How 'bout yourself?" Nathan asked.

"_The girls and I have been wondering what has been going on? Why haven't you spoken to us the past few months?_" She asked.

"Well, I got so caught up on hanging out because I had to deal with my lab partner." He responded, "You understand, don't you, Max?" He said in a smooth tone, filled with confidence.

Nathan couldn't put much complaint in it. He felt at ease when hanging out with Warren. Until this incident happened... Nathan hid a sigh, wondering to himself on if he should help Warren out on something like this, or put him under the bus to where to he has no chance with her at all. He looked over at him with an eyebrow rose with a sudden smirk.

"Hey, Max? You don't suppose we could grab a bite to eat later this evening, do you? Seeing as to how it's been awhile, I was wondering if you were interested in catching up?" Nathan chuckled lightly, looking at Warren, noticing his heart practically stopped when he saw him freeze. "You are? Great. I'll see you soon." He smirked at Warren as he hung up. "You're welcome."

"W-What... what just happened?" Warren shook his head, trying to clear his mind, "Did... did she just agree to have dinner with you?!"

"What do you think, dumbass?" Nathan flicked his forehead, letting out a laugh, "Guess the session with Mr. Jefferson was useful for something good for once." He rolled his eyes, a deep sigh escaping, sitting back in his seat.

Warren gawked at Nathan, filled with complete disbelief. He still couldn't get it wrapped around his head. Should he be happy since it could get him closer to Max? Terrified because there's a possibility she'd bring up the past plans? Jealous since Nathan's gonna be the one going on a _date _with Max? Concerned of the possibility of messing up his chances? (Which most obviously has been viewed as low)

Nathan smacked him upside the head to get him back to his senses, which just made him confused and upset, "Hey, dream boy! Get your head out of your ass and think of a plan! I don't know shit about Caulfield so I can't go any further than this unless you tell me more about this chick." The annoyed teen said.

"Oh! Um... well..." Warren was a bit lost on what to say. He was still speechless that it was hard for him to process this whole thing.

"Well, Einstein? Whatcha got for me?" Nathan crossed his arms, a smirk appearing on his face as he awaited to hear something from him, "Or would you like this to be a gamble for the both of us?" He chuckled, awaiting for a stressful reaction. "'Cause there are quite a few outcomes that can be a blessing or ruin your chances in an instant." He scoffed, looking away, _Even though I feel at this point, I'd be saving this kid if I acted on my own._

"What? What makes you think you'd be saving me?" Warren looked over, dumbfounded, "What? You think my chances of winning her on my own is low?"

"What the hell...?" Nathan froze, _How the hell could he hear me think that?_ The teen thought quickly, taken aback, lost on what to say at this point, "N-Never mind, just tell me what the hell you want me to say and do on this date." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head, looking away.

Warren still had difficulty processing this whole thing. He felt like it was a dream come true, until viewing it in a different direction. The adolescent was both happy and stressed on the outcomes. One being a higher chance of getting closer to Max. And the other being found out about the secret plans. The young man didn't understand why it was a big deal to him if Nathan did find out. But after looking back at how their connection grew, he felt it would break in an instant and their issue will become even worse if anything leaked out.

Warren covered his face, sighing deeply, thinking of a way to be there to keep things under wraps, but also not lead to suspicions. He peeked over at the other teen who looked like he was a little... embarrassed? Warren looked over at Nathan, seeing his face lightly crimson for some reason. He looked embarrassed, yet mainly flustered. The adolescent didn't understand the sudden change of emotions again, but as he stared, a small smile ran across his face and warmth suddenly spread through his whole body.

_Cute..._ He thought to himself.

"Did you just call me cute?" Nathan turned his head, his expression turning into a glare.

"What the...?" Warren was lost, trying to think of the meaning of this, "Um... if you don't mind this sudden request, can you... can you think?" Warren said without phrasing it in a better way.

"Of course I can fucking think! What the hell makes you think I can't?" Nathan took offense to that.

"N-No, no, no, no!" Warren laughed awkwardly, "I-I meant can you think of something for me? I... I want to test something out."

_What a fucking stupid question..._ Nathan rolled his eyes.

Warren let out a wary laugh, "I... dear God... What the fucking hell is going on?!" Warren growled, close to losing it.

"What the hell is your problem?" Nathan asked, surprised to see himself lose it.

_This is! This is my problem! _Warren thought, looking over at Nathan frantically.

_What the fucking hell?!_ Nathan thought back,_ What the fuck is going on Graham?!_

_I'm just as fucking lost as you are, Prescott!_ Warren looked at him, shocked, _God, why is this happening? How the hell can I...? What the fuck is going on?!_ A maddened scream escaped his lips, trying to keep himself under control, yet lost it even more. "How the hell can we think things privately now?!" He yelled out.

"Don't fucking ask me, dumb ass! You're the one with the brain! You fucking tell me!" Nathan growled, "What the hell do we do now?!"

Warren groaned, "So much for keeping things a secret now..." He massaged his temples, trying to calm himself down to think this over rationally.

"What are you hiding, Graham? Hm?" Nathan glared over at him, giving him a look as if he was about to deck him, no longer caring he'd be hitting himself.

"I'd like to ask you the same question, Prescott." Warren stared daggers at him.

At that point, the teens felt that this roller coaster that they instantly wanted to get off just started. They were completely lost and felt they were losing it more and more as the day progressed. Warren gripped his head, while Nathan turned into a ball, both of them trying to find a way to ease themselves, but failed as they struggled to process this whole situation out even further.


	22. Denial

Nathan was the first to try to calm down as he noticed the sun was beginning to set. "Hm?" He looked up, a groan escaping, "Shit..." He looked down, trying to catch himself from losing it even further, "Warren?" He looked over, seeing he was still spazzing out, "Hey! Dumbass!" He snapped his fingers in front of him, "Wake up! We'll have to figure out more about this later. I gotta head over to the diner soon if you want this chance to actually happen." He pointed ahead, starting up his truck.

What is there we could do to keep us from reading each others mind? Warren pondered, trying to figure out how to avoid more chaos.

It's useless to think, Warren... Nathan sighed, Damn it all to hell... The teen sighed deeply, resting his elbow against the window, trying to calm himself down.

"No shit, Sherlock..." Warren whispered, rolling his eyes as he looked away.

"What the fuck did you just say, dip shit?" Nathan glared over, still trying to focus on the road.

"N-Nothing..." Warren tensed up after realizing what he mumbled, "This is so fucking annoying... What the hell is there we could do about this?"

"Don't be asking me, Einstein." Nathan growled, still irritated by this whole mess, "You're the one with the answers, not me." He rested his head against the head rest, sighing deeply after parking his truck, "What a fucking nightmare..." He rubbed the back of his head, trying to think clearly. "Come up with any ideas?" Nathan peeked over.

"We could put foiling paper on our heads and see if it'll keep us from reading each others mind?" Warren laughed, nudging. "You know? Like the movie Signs?"

Nathan glanced over, shaking his head with a scoff, "Shut up..." He groaned, closing his eyes, trying to rid the headache by rubbing his temples.

"Ah, geez... nng what the...?" Warren felt a sudden piercing pain in his mind.

"Something wrong, Graham?" Nathan peeked over.

"N-No... it's... it's nothing." He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, Could it be from his sudden migraine? Warren thought, looking over at him.

What are you talking about, Warren? He looked over, clueless and curious on what he could be talking about.

Try to... try to think of something irritating. Something that could lead you to having a headache. Warren looked at him.

What kind of question is that? Are you stupid? Nathan glared.

Warren groaned, slight irritation from Nathan's statement and his possible correction suddenly getting him.

Nng... what the fucking hell?! Nathan released a frustrated growl, grabbing hold of his head, Are you fucking serious?! Is this what you were talking about, Graham?!

Ha! So I was right! Warren let out a laugh without thinking.

You damn bastard! Nathan was about to grab the collar of his shirt, but his phone went off, "Shit..." He backed away, startled, Please tell me it's not my phone this time...? The teen panicked, looking at his pants, seeing his phone light up and vibrating, "Shit, shit, SHIT!" He slammed on his steering wheel.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Warren rolled his eyes with a groan once hearing his own phone going off a ring after.

"Answer it. Now!" Nathan grabbed his phone and pinned it against Warren's ear.

"H-Hello?" Warren jolted by surprise and discomfort, "Y-Yeah? What? WHY?!" He said with frustration, "I-I... I can't do that now!" He growled, "Are you fucking serious?! Why her?! Haven't you already dealt with her?!" Warren rose his voice over the phone, "You got to be fucking kidding me!" He hit the dashboard, hanging up, wanting to throw the phone out the window. "Damn it all to hell..." He sighed out.

"What the fuck, Warren?" Nathan was in deep concern after he spoke without having the ability to acknowledge what just happened over the phone, "What happened?"

"They're wanting... they're wanting Max instead..." He looked over, pained.

"What...?" He groaned, irritation beginning to stir, "What exactly did they say?"

"Answer my phone... it's your turn to take your part now..." Warren said, pointing at his own phone that still went off.

"Not until you tell me what he told you." Nathan bickered back.

Warren sighed deeply, "Your dad said they're wanting Max by this weekend..." He looked over, conflicted. "He said you're needing to throw a party this weekend. He'll grab all the necessary supplies for you to throw it and he'll give you the right amount of dose from the drugs you bought." He rested his arms on the dashboard, trying to catch his breath by the cause of disbelief. "How long... How long has this been going on and why?" Warren looked at him with disgust, "How could youhave the ability to be a part of this?"

"I don't have any ability to do this, Warren!" He cried out, "I... Like I said before, this has happened for about three, almost four years..." He looked down, gripping on the steering wheel, "I never had a say in this. I never wanted to take part in this sick and twisted thing they find amusing. I never... Ever since that day with Sam... I can never look myself in the mirror..." He shut his eyes tightly, trying hold back tears he has kept holding in for the past few years. Why the hell are these tears spilling out this year? Why so many fucking times!? He wiped his tears on one sleeve, looking away from Warren. Hm...? He was taken aback once smelling a familiar fragment.

"Nathan... please tell me what the hell is going on! I can't help you until you tell me the whole story of when, why, and how this all happened." Warren said, not even noticing Nathan's confused expression.

The other teen gave a look of bewilderment, trying to process a faintly familiar smell. What the hell...?

"What? What's going on with you, Nathan?" Warren finally noticed his look of confusion.

"Will...?" Nathan looked over at him, "Oh, God... please tell me you don't go by a nickname of Will." He rolled his eyes, hating this day even more now. "First Twitch, then Sam, then this unbelievable body swap and now a possibility of this? What the ever living fuck..." He hung his head, resting his hands on the back of hid neck before looking up at the ceiling.

"What's wrong?" Warren looked at him, confused, "And... I don't--"

"Oh, thank God--" Nathan cut in.

"Not ever since I was a kid." Warren added.

"For fuck's sake!" Nathan closed his eyes tightly, slamming his hand on the steering wheel before opening the door and slamming it behind him.

"Wha--!? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?!" Warren popped his head out the window.

"Nothing!" Nathan waved his hand in the air, heading towards the diner without going further into the conversation about Max.

Christ... Nathan growled, clenching his hands tightly in his pockets.

The uncomfortable teen stormed into the diner and headed straight to the restroom to think things over. He hoped not to be heard physically and mentally by Warren as his mind brought back some childhood memories.

"You got to be fucking kidding me..." Nathan sighed deeply, entering the farthest stall to sit and organize his tangled up thoughts. He breathed in the scent from the sleeve again, hoping it was all just in his head, but once it entered through his nose... it was exactly what he smelt when he was a kid.

Several Years Ago...

"Nathan!" Someone called out, "Ooooh, Naaaaate!" The person continued.

The young boy hid behind several bushed, trying to stifle his giggles.

"Nathan Joshua Prescott! You come out this instant!" The person laughed gently, searching around for him, "I'll count to three. If I don't see you by then, I'm going to have to tickle you to death once I find you!"

"Uh-oh..." Nathan felt he was in a pickle.

He didn't want to get caught or he'd lose the game, but he also didn't want to suffer through his sister's tickling wrath. A sigh escaped as he was about to hold up his hands as he was close to surrendering. But before he could even walk out of the bushes, his mouth was covered and he was pulled back down instantly.

"Mmph?!" Nathan muffled, startled.

"Shh! Even if you do surrender she'd still most likely tickle you and you'll definitely lose!" The person whispered, placing his index finger against his lips.

Nathan was irritated by the sudden holding back, yet the smell of sweets entered his nose which eased him instantly. He was lost in the scent that he almost forgot he was in another person's hold. After coming back to his senses he panicked a little again.

Nathan wiggled himself out of the other kids hold. "Who the heck are you!?" The kid asked.

"Oh..." The other kid laughed, exposing his missing teeth that looked like they were beginning to grow, "The name's Will." The kid finally introduced himself, "Well, it's a nickname, but yeah, call me Will. What's yours?" He questioned.

"N-Nate..." He answered cautiously.

"Oh! Crud! she's coming!" Will grabbed Nate's hand and dragged him along without any say, "Run!" The kid laughed with a huge grin and he led the way.

"There you are!" Nate's sister called out, "I'm gonna get ya!" She yelled out, chasing after them playfully. "Oooh, I have another prey to tickle, too!"

"Oh, no! Run or else she'll get us!" Warren laughed out, still holding onto Nathan's hand.

Nathan was a little confused on how to feel right now. Should he be upset that the boy joined in without permission? Happy that it feels he made a friend? Annoyed that he's still holding onto his hand? Either way, he followed his lead, ignoring all the thoughts that crossed his mind, throwing it out the window and continued to play with the unfamiliar boy.

Present Time...

"Please tell me this is all just a mistake..." Nathan whispered, grasping his head out of fear and frustration. "What kind of memories are these anyway!?" He asked himself, angrily.

"Nate...?" Warren suddenly appeared, peeking from above, speechless.

"Will...?" Nathan looked above, shaking his head by the cause of anger and fear.


End file.
